LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
^/>^M ''S.S 



i! UNITED STATES OF AMERICA* 



MY MINISTERIAL EXPERIENCES. 



ALEXANDER STRAHAN AND CO. 

Loiidony 32, Ludgate Hill. 

Edinbtirgh, 35, Hanover Street. 

Glasgcnu, i, Royal Bank Place- 



MY MINISTERIAL 
EXPERIENCES 



BY THE 

REV. Dr/bUCHSEL 

BERLIN 




LONDON 

ALEXANDER STRAHAN AND CO. 

1863. 






EDINBURGH , T. CONSTABLE, 
PRINTER TO THE QUEEN, AND TO THE UNIVERSITY 



CONTENTS. 



FIRST YEAR, .... 


I 


PREFERMENT, .... 


87 


PATRONS, 


107 


DAY-LABOURERS, . ' . 


125 


THE PARSONAGE, 


147 


THE SACRISTAN AND SCHOOLMASTER, 


. 183 


SECESSION AND REVIVAL, 


207 



THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 

T T was always my wish to find time to arrange and 
write down my ministerial experiences, in the 
form of contributions to practical theolog}^; but on the 
pther hand I considered it wrong to neglect any of my 
sacred duties in order to prepare these for the press, 
nor, indeed, did I feel any call or capability for such 
a task. Nevertheless, my dear and honoured friend. 
Professor Hengstenberg, insisted upon my allowing 
these sketches to appear in the Evangelical Ecclesias- 
tical Journal, and the gratitude I owed that periodi- 
cal induced me to yield the point. I hoped that 
they might serve to encourage and console some of 
my younger brethren in the ministry, my own sons 
among the number ; but it never occurred to me 
that such reminiscences would gain admittance into 
a wider circle, and I was very reluctant to allow 
their publication in a separate form. I do not, how- 
ever, deny that it has been a pleasure and advantage 
to myself to retrace God's dealings with me. We 
are indeed great losers if we fail diligently to bring 
to our remembrance the gracious leading of Provi- 



viii Preface. 

dence in our own case. Faith springs, doubtless, 
from God's word, but the experiences of life are the 
best commentary upon Holy Scripture. 

To divide one's time properly between parish and 
family claims is a difficult matter for a pastor with a 
large cure of souls, and as conscience has often 
reproached me with having seen too little my 
dear children, I have hoped to make them some 
slight compensation by this little volume. The 
young pastors of the present day have in some 
respects an easier duty to perform than fell to my 
share. The deeper emotions that political storms 
have stirred in men's minds have rendered them 
more susceptible of religious influence, but this 
only increases the minister's responsibility. The 
louder the voice of God's judgments, the more un- 
stable all temporal circumstances, the wider must 
the Church open her gates, and 'constrain men to 
come in.' Woe to that servant whom the Lord finds 
sleeping at a time like this ! 

The conflict now going on in the Lutheran Church 
can only be brought to a favourable issue by new life 
in the community. But the Church's future Hes in 
the hands of that Lord who bought it with his own 
blood. Our part must be to bear up against fear or 
anxiety, to maintain the truth, and not to forget 
in the struggles of the day our own personal struggle 
with flesh and blood. The government of the Church 
rests in the pierced hands of the Saviour, and how- 



Preface. ix 

ever wonderful and incomprehensible they may ap- 
pear to us, his thoughts concerning it shall stand, 
and he will do all his pleasure. And his thoughts 
are thoughts of peace ! 

Pahji Sunday, 1 86 1. 



The unexpectedly rapid sale of the first edition 
has led to the appearance of another, in which no 
alterations have been made, time having failed me 
to enlarge or improve it. I commit the little work 
therefore once more to the indulgence of my readers, 
and I pray God to be with them all, so that they 
may grow in the knowledge and love of our Lord 
Jesus Christ ! 

DR. BUCHSEL. 

Berlin, %th August iS6i. 



MY MINISTERIAL EXPERIENCES. 



FIRST YEAR. 

TT was on a Saturday evening, before the eighth 

Sunday after Trinity, that a young man of four- 

and-twenty might have been seen standing on a hill 

commanding a view of the village of P ; the 

boy who carried his effects — a few books and clothes 
merely — sitting meanwhile on a stone at a little dis- 
tance. The young man stood still and looked long 
at the large village that lay there before him, with its 
church and tower. That village was to be his new 
home. He had left behind his pleasant university 
career ; his bright and happy youth ; more, he had left 
behind a parents' house, with its atmosphere of peace, 
and deep, heartfelt, family affection. The prospect 
now before him was that of acting as assistant to the 

old and infirm pastor of P . 

The day was warm ; richly laden corn-fields 
stretched out on all sides, and the reapers, in the 
sweat of their brows, were busy laying low the golden 
ears of wheat. The sun went down. Anxiety and timid 

A 



2 My Ministerial Experiences, 

apprehension, high aspiration and hope, alternated in 
the young man's mind. The Scripture does, indeed, 
magnify the high calling of the minister; but how 
fraught with difficulties it is ! Yet, truly, the life of 
man were valueless but for its labour and effort. 
The inhabitants, then, of those houses before him 
were the field in which he was to toil ; and he was to 
give an account of his work done to the Lord of the 
Church. His heart grew so full, he could contain 
himself no longer. He sent the boy on down the 
hill, and having ascertained that he could kneel un- 
observed beside the stone, he poured out his soul to 
the Lord in silent prayer; and experienced some- 
what of that intercession which St. Paul describes as 
made for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. 
Praise and thanksgiving to God for his gracious lead- 
ing hitherto ; prayer and supplication for an open 
and attentive ear, a humble and obedient heart, to 
follow the Divine voice henceforth — these shared his 
spirit between them. For indeed prayer and thanks- 
giving are ever corresponding forces in the Christian's 
heart, and only he who can sincerely thank God can 
sincerely pray to him. 

Before he reached the village, he had overtaken the 
boy. The first inhabitant to whom he could reach 
out his hand was a child of seven. Willingly would 
he have pressed the little fellow to his heart in 
very deed, as he did in spirit. As he approached the 
parsonage, the pastor came out and gave him a kind 



First Year. 3 

and cordial greeting. He was conducted to the 
room destined for him, which looked to the church- 
yard with its graves. Soon came in the old sacristan 
to learn what hymns he was pleased to appoint for 
the morrow; and the stranger was much gratified 
when the old man expressed his hearty good wishes, 
blended as they were with a certain tinge of admoni- 
tion, since they wound up by the words, ' The Lord 
giveth grace to the humble.' Whenever the heart is 
very deeply stirred, and a man feels that he has reached 
one of the turning-points of his life, he is peculiarly 
susceptible of the influence of God's word. Its 
authority is as a firmly-rooted stem, to which the 
weak plant delights to cling. At the sound of these 
words of the living God, peace seemed breathed 
within his troubled spirit. The old sacristan was 
dismissed with hearty thanks, and a request for his 
friendly co-operation. 

The household went very early to bed, for all were 
tired with the labours of the harvest ; the pastor 
having a pretty large farm in his own hands. But 
the young assistant found it impossible to compose 
himself to sleep. He gently opened the parsonage 
door, and a few steps led him to the churchyard, 
from which he could survey the whole well-built 
village. The full moon was shining on the other side 
of the church. Standing on the tombstone of a for- 
mer minister, he could get a view of the pulpit within. 
The whole village seemed asleep, with the exception of 



4 My Mi7iisterial Experiences. 

a dim light in one small cottage window. 'To-mor- 
row thou wilt stand within that pulpit, and the in- 
habitants of those houses will all be sitting before 
thee. Wilt thou awake those sleepers %' This ques- 
tion at once bent his knee in the dust. His first 
evening prayer was fervent and sincere. ' The sins 
of the minister hinder the course of God's word ;' so 
said an old preacher at the close of his life ; and, 
accordingly, the prayer for the congregation ended 
in a prayer for my own poor soul, — for I was that 
young man, and I felt that it was a difficult thing in- 
deed to be a good pastor. 

The next morning I rose early. My carefully com- 
posed sermon was over and over again impressed 
upon my memory. About seven o'clock, the old 
sacristan came riding up in state to the parsonage to 
conduct me to the chapel-of-ease. The pastor's old 
servant, who had lived with him nearly thirty years, 
and managed all household affairs, brought a horse 
for me from the stable. We both rode, accordingly, 
all through the long village street, and I was pleased 
to observe that the sacristan received friendly greetings 
from old and young. But he took off his hat to no 
one, only acknowledged their civility by a wave of his 
hand, and when he saw me take off mine, admonished 
me not to spoil the people. About two miles and 
a half brought us to the chapel-of-ease. The school- 
master, a man in the prime of life, took my horse and 
led him. to the stable. The sacristan went at once into 



First Year. 5 

the church, rang the bell, and wrote out the numbers 
of the hymns. The churchyard was untidy, the 
church itself dirty, and out of all the community only 
four men came to the service, not one woman, nor 
one child. Even the schoolmaster, with whom* we 
had left our horses, seemed too much occupied with 
secular affairs to think much about coming to church. 
' There will be no communion service here,' the old 
sacristan said \ so, after having sung a few verses 
almost alone, I went at once into the pulpit, and 
began my sermon. I own that it was a severe shock 
to the 'old' man' within me. Not even curiosity had 
brought people to church ! My discourse was not 
appropriate to such an occasion. I had to leave out 
a good deal, and delivered the rest badly enough. 
Such was the beginning I made. I felt very uncom- 
fortable, and rode back in silence by the side of my 
old friend the sacristan, who told me that he and the 
pastor had often returned without holding any service 
at all, no one having come to the chapel. 

In the Mother Church service began at ten o'clock. 
As we rode through the village, my companion 
was much pleased to observe several men standing 
about their doors, apparently prepared to go to 
church. In the parsonage itself, indeed, a great 
wash had been going on, and the maids were still 
busy hanging linen out to dry. The bell began to 
ring. I went to church with a humbled heart, 
accompanied by the old pastor. There were but 



6 My Ministerial Expe^^iences. 

few people gathered there. When I had reached 
the pulpit, and was just about to begin, a country 
lad, who sat in the gallery, and remarked that I had 
laid my manuscript on the cushion before me, said, 
quite audibly, 'Oh, so he reads, then!' I pushed 
the manuscript away, and began my sermon upon false 
prophets, but the greater part of the congregation 
dropped off at once to sleep, and but few kept up ap- 
pearances sufficiently to sleep without letting their 
heads drop on their breasts. During dinner, the pastor 
observed to his daughters that the church had been 
very well attended, and that some were there who 
had not been for a long time previously. Ever}^ now 
and then I heard instances of the people's perversity 
and misconduct, which made my heart sink more and 
more. I went to my own room, sat down on one of 
my two chairs, and positively wept. Towards even- 
ing I went out, looked around me, and perplexed my- 
self as to what I was to do next. I was very sorry that 
I had studied theology. Every calling in life seemed 
better than a preacher's. I had no faith for prayer 
that day. It was a dark season indeed. 

On the Monday I was up early, because I could 
not rest. First I read the gospel for the next Sunday, 
and anxiously planned my next discourse. I saw 
from my window that the children went to school 
about six o'clock, and a longing to see and speak 
with the old sacristan impelled me to pay the school 
a visit. There were more than a hundred children 



First Year. 7 

assembled in the large room, all sitting perfectly 
still in their places, for the teacher and his aged 
wife insisted upon order and quiet. As six struck 
on the neighbouring steeple, the word was given : 
' Stand up to pray.' Loudly began the children to 
sing, or rather shriek, a few verses of the hymn, ' O 
God, the Lord of heaven and earth ;' and then the 
first boy proceeded to repeat Luther's Morning 
Prayer in a quite careless unthinking way, the next 
boy doing the same, then the third, and so on. 
After that, the five principal clauses of the Catechism 
were got through with marvellous rapidity and con- 
fidence, each pupil taking up a sentence in turn, 
while the others moved their lips to show that they 
were following. During the writing lesson I spoke 
to a few of the children, but not an answer could I 
extract from any. It seemed as though they did 
not understand my dialect. Meanwhile the teacher 
was making some of the smaller children read, and 
learn their letters in the old horn-book. He sat in 
a large chair, and I could see him strike his pupils, 
and scold them in very harsh language. At eight 
o'clock the school broke up. Hymn, prayer, and 
Catechism as before ; a sentence and a few verses 
given out for the week, and each child threatened 
with punishment if it did not learn its task before 
the Saturday came round. The younger children had 
shorter lessons given them, with directions to make 
their mothers repeat these over and over again till 



8 My Ministerial Experiences. 

they had got them by heart I then found myself 
alone with the master, and should have been well 
pleased if he had commented on my discourse of 
the day before ; but it never seemed to occur to him. 
As I passed through the village, some children looked 
smilingly at me ; so I went up to them and held out 
my hand, upon which they all ran away. The grown 
people did certainly acknowledge my presence, but 
evidently they had no time for speaking to me. 

Without exactly knowing why, I betook myself 
again to the school on the following day, and as, at 
its breaking up, the master announced that he had 
to go to town on the morrow, and that, consequently, 
the school would not meet, I offered to take his 
place. He looked at me doubtfully, and the chil- 
dren inquisitively; but after some consideration, he 
agreed to my plan, threatening, however, the most 
tremendous punishment to any child who should 
misbehave in his absence. 

On Wednesday morning I was the earliest in the 
schoolroom. The little boy that I had first met on 
the evening of my arrival, was one of the early 
comers, and I asked his name. He seemed a good 
deal surprised that I should not know it, but did at 
length bring out his Christian name. I managed the 
school as I had seen it done. 

It was the school that first gained for me an en- 
trance into the houses. A boy, who had been regular 
in his attendance, was missing one morning, and I 



First Year. 9 

heard that he was ill. It seemed to me only natural 
that I should pay him a visit; but his parents were ap- 
parently astonished at my calling to inquire for him. 
He was very ill, and I recommended both him and 
his parents to pray to the Lord, but had not the 
courage myself to pray with them. Very soon I 
found other occasions — chiefly connected with the 
school — for calling at different houses. The old 
sacristan was much pleased with me, and declared 
that the attendance at school improved. The chil- 
dren began by degrees to look at me more and more 
good-naturedly as I went about the village, and some 
would even reach out their hands. It was plain, too, 
that the parents took to me when they saw that I 
was interested in their children. As to mere num- 
bers, the attendance at church improved, but the faces 
remained unmoved and sleepy during the service. 

^Meanwhile, I laboured anxiously and assiduously 
in the matter of preaching. Even on the Sunday 
evenings I began to concern myself about the next 
Sunday's sermon, and the thought of it haunted me 
throughout the w^eek. All other men had at least 
one day of rest ; there was none for me. In the 
early part of the week I wrote much — ^wrote quan- 
tities ; scratched out, put in, improved day by day. 
On Friday I gave up all my time to writing out my 
sermon, and on Saturday I learnt it by heart ; but do 
what I would, it was a dry and tedious affair, or al 
all events it made no impression on the congregation. 



lo My Ministerial Experie7ices. 

On the following Sunday I chose this subject : Good 
succeeding evil : first comes sorrow for sin, then faith ; 
first the strife, then the victory ; first the cross, then 
the crown. It appeared to me that the people were a 
little more attentive than usual ; but no sooner had I 
finished my last sentence, than up rose the old pas- 
tor, who went to the altar and began — ' From the 
mouth of a young and inexperienced man you have 
indeed heard that good succeeds evil, but I for my 
part tell you that evil succeeds good ; for after youth 
comes age ; after life, death ; after joy, sorrow.' 
And then he proceeded to paint the misery of man- 
kind in such vivid colours, and so completely from 
the life, that the whole congregation was roused, and 
the women wept aloud. As for me, I felt indeed a 
good deal annoyed, to think that my whole dis- 
course, the result of a whole week's hard labour, 
should be thus nullified ; but at the same time I 
saw that there was, after all, some way of getting 
at these people. The old sacristan afterwards ob- 
served, ' That's the diet for them.' As to the gos- 
pel, the true source of comfort, there was not a hint 
of that. The discourse ended, with the funeral proces- 
sion and the grave, — not one word was spoken of the 
higher life beyond. 

The next week was for me an irksome and gloomy 
one. I went indeed as usual to the school ; but the 
next Sunday's sermon lay like a hundredweight upon 
my spirits. In the course of my lonely walks, there 



First Year. 1 1 

was a little lake that I often came upon. One even- 
ing I stood on its shore, and contemplated its calm, 
clear mirror, but there was no peace within my heart. 
A man passed me by with a net, and I asked him 
whether he had caught anything; but he answered 
roughly, ' Not I ; there are plenty of fish to be had 
here, but I don't know rightly how to set about it.' 
' I, too, don't know rightly how to set about it,' an 
inner voice kept repeating the whole of my home- 
ward way. Certainly, I felt that I had spared neither 
time nor trouble, but yet the conviction that I was 
not up to my work took such firm hold of me that 
I could not throw it off. Where did I fail % I had 
studied homily writing industriously, and at my ex- 
amination had come off with applause in this par- 
ticular. Neither had I ever been rationalistic in 
my tendencies ; my mother was peculiarly pious, 
and my father orthodox. From my youth up I 
had had an unqualified respect for the Word of 
God. The excellent Neander had been my instruc- 
tor at the university. I was sincerely and strongly 
dogmatic ; indeed, the old pastor used to say mine 
was a mediaeval theology. I began more and more 
anxiously to suspect that I had never been really 
called and fitted for the ministry; and my resolve 
was firmly taken, rather to gain my bread by 
manual labour, than to be one of that too numerous 
class of pastors who live upon the benefice indeed, 
but do no good among the people. In the anguish 



1 2 My Ministerial Experiejices, 

of my heart I sat down to write to my father ; but, 
as usual, I only received a very laconic answer. 
Upon this occasion it ran thus : — ' My son, ' I re- 
joice to find, from thy letter, that thou art in the 
right way. First of all, vanity must be broken down.' 
Vanity ! I had never once thought of that. How- 
ever, I soon came to confess to myself that, with 
regard to preaching, I had been more anxious about 
my own credit than the glory of God or the souls of 
the people. With a deep and regretful sense of their 
general neglect of Church ordinances, had mingled 
the persuasion that I was the man to bring them all 
round. The first feeling was right enough, the 
second was a delusion ; for if the Word of God is 
to be the means of salvation, it is essential that its 
efficacy should not be hindered by any sin of the 
preacher. The purest water flowing through a dirty 
pipe contracts its taste and stain, and is not fit to 
be drunk. Vanity must be broken down, else labour 
is in vain, and orthodoxy brings no blessing. Only 
in the case of a minister vanity can so readily dis- 
guise itself! Success in the ministry and personal 
credit are so intimately blended, it is no easy matter 
to distinguish between the two ; and the attempt to 
please all men is readily justified under the pretence 
of endearing to them the Word of God. The vanity 
of the natural man is always a difficult thing to sub- 
due, but difficult above all for those who have to an- 
nounce to others the tidings of salvation. 



First Year. 13 

During my university career, I had been in the 
daily habit of reading my German Bible ; but I was 
now led to consider more closely those great pro- 
phets and apostles whom the Lord had used as 
instruments \ and I soon perceived that their skill 
and success in their Master's work arose from their 
being themselves purified and refined, and so made 
fit organs of the Holy Spirit. This struck me more 
especially with respect to the Apostle Peter. First, 
the Lord leads him to confession, to full acknowledg- 
ment of unworthiness — extorts the cry, ' I am a sinful 
man ;' then constrains him to bear witness to the 
faith, that Jesus is the Son of God ; and finally ques- 
tions him as to the amount of love he feels for his 
Master. But what is love but self-denial and com- 
plete self-surrender to Christ and his service % 

I was often tempted to envy those ministers who 
were calm or even indifferent as to the result of their 
sermons ; and yet I was firmly resolved not to eat 
the bread of the Church without working hard in her 
service. I tried to console myself by saying that the 
influence of preaching is unseen ; but that was fal- 
lacious comfort ; for the Church is, after all, visible, 
and faith must be manifested in works. I had no 
one to whom I could tell my sorrows ; no one who 
would, I felt sure, understand and feel for me. My 
own spiritual condition began to appear very ques- 
tionable. I sought after the keenness of Peter's 
repentance j afflicted myself with the recollections 



14 My Ministerial Experiences, 

of my sins of every kind ; and shuddered at the 
thought that my faith must be a dead faith, since 
I was so deficient in those inward experiences 
famihar to other Christians. And yet, in the back- 
ground of my soul, as it were, there still lurked the 
thought that, after all, I had remained pure from all 
gross sins ; that I had never neglected my religious 
duties, and could not, therefore, be quite undeserv- 
ing : in short, the blood and righteousness of Christ 
were not my one and only consolation. The rela- 
tion between justification and sanctification was any- 
thing but clear to me. I wished, indeed, to enjoy 
the fruits of faith, but did not seek after the gift 
of faith itself I wanted to repent, and to believe in 
my own strength ; to love the Lord without his 
help ; for that these graces depended upon the work 
of the Holy Spirit, and were only to be obtained 
by prayer, was still to me a truth unknown. And 
thus I was seeking to teach others the way of salva- 
tion, while I myself was ignorant of it ! If at that 
time I had only had Arnd's True Christianity, or 
Scriver's Spiritual Treasury, or the Sermons of Starke 
and Valerius Herberger, how soon I should have 
been set right ! The young pastors of the present day 
are fortunate in having these precious works rescued 
from oblivion, and can meet with Christian fellowship 
much more readily than I could. It was Luther's 
Shorter Catechism that first set me on the right 
track, especially that glorious declaration of the 



First Year. 15 

third article, ' I believe that I am unable, in my own 
understanding or strength, to believe in Jesus Christ 
my Lord, or to come to him.' The old sacristan, who 
did not deal much in exclusive points of doctrine, used 
to add to this, the verse in which the Lord says that 
our heavenly Father will give his Holy Spirit to them 
who ask him. I began, accordingly, to pray for the 
Holy Spirit, who should work in me true repentance 
and living faith ; and I soon discovered that re- 
flecting upon one's self and one's condition, and 
being enlightened by the Holy Spirit in both par- 
ticulars, were two very different things. Gradually 
prayer ceased to be a duty, and became a real 
necessity of my heart. The Word of God, which 
I had of late been in the habit of reading with 
constant reference to my sermons, and which I 
was wont to apply rather to the congregation than 
to myself, now began to smite my own soul by its 
threats, and to cheer it by its promises. The grace 
and love of God often rose before me in such 
grandeur and power, that sometimes my vain and 
presumptuous heart was ready to fly from before 
them and hide itself, and then again became de- 
sirous to remain and enjoy. Above all, I was 
powerfully attracted by the sufferings of the Lord. 
I had indeed always believed that in his cross lay 
the salvation of the world ; but I had hitherto 
only beheld it afar off, and hid in clouds and dark- 
ness. Now, it stood before me, as it were, in the 



1 6 My Ministerial Experiences. 

light of the rising sun ; but I remained at a dis- 
tance, and had not the courage to approach, because 
I was under the delusion that in my present condi- 
tion it was not meet I should, but that I must become 
gradually worthier and worthier to appropriate its full 
consolations. Oh, how simple the saving doctrine is, 
and yet how difficult for man actually to receive and 
follow ! 

My anxiety and distress as to the composition of 
my sermons remained the same. I did now indeed 
bend my knees in prayer both before I began to 
meditate and to write, but the church remained 
empty, and the few who came still contended with 
sleep, and too often unsuccessfully. The only thing 
that really improved was the attendance at the school. 
The sacristan seemed pleased with my daily visits 
there, and especially entreated me, by means of fre- 
quent intercourse with the parents, to bring him more 
and more pupils ; gradually his confidence in me 
increased, and when he was not well, or had other 
things to do, he would gladly make the school over 
to me. 

Things, however, still looked gloomy enough at 
the chapel-of-ease. The sacristan and I had often 
a long time to wait on Sunday mornings before there 
came a sufficient number to constitute a congrega- 
tion. If we had an early service, no women or chil- 
dren appeared, though the village was a considerable 
one. The school was wretchedly attended ; the 



First Year. 17 

teacher was quite incompetent, and absorbed in 
secular matters, though, for the rest, an honest and 
respectable man. I was surprised to observe that, 
for some Sundays, a rustic, whom I had never seen 
there before, now regularly made his appearance in 
church, but in the most open way in the world 
settled himself to sleep as soon as he was seated, 
and snored so loud that one heard him even during 
the singing. A boy, to whom I had often spoken, 
and who had an open, merry expression of face, was 
in the habit of placing himself not far from the 
snorer, and I now requested him to sit more imme- 
diately behind him, and to touch him from time to 
time in order to keep him awake. At first the lad 
refused to do this, but the promise of a groschen led 
him to comply. During the whole service I could 
see the contest carried on between the little fellow 
and his somnolent neighbour, and by a glance of my 
eye I sought to encourage the former to keep up the 
rousing process. On the following Sunday the 
rustic came again, and so did the boy, whom I 
begged to continue his good offices as before, but 
he declined ; and when I held out the bribe of the 
groschen, told me that the peasant had - already given 
him two, on condition that he should not be dis- 
turbed. When the service was over, throughout 
the whole of which the man had slumbered unmo- 
lested, I went up to him in the churchyard, and 
asked him what motive he could have for coming to 

B 



1 8 My Ministerial Experiences. 

church ; to which he answered, quite unconcernedly, 
' There are too many flies in the house for a man to 
get his rest, but in the church it's fine and cool ; in 
winter there's never any need why I should come.' 
I was so amazed at this statement that I could make 
no reply ; and the hope of ever influencing this con- 
gregation very nearly vanished altogether. What 
could I do ? Even granting my sermons to be 
but poor ones, still, if I had been able to preach 
the best in the world, they would have been of no 
avail to people who came without any intention of 
listening to them. 

In the parish itself, as I said before, my visiting 
the school, and consequent intercourse with the chil- 
dren, had inclined the people in my favour; and both 
the pastor and the sacristan agreed that the attendance 
at church had increased, though it was still nothing 
to speak of; but as to the chapel-of-ease, I posi- 
tively despaired of ever making any way there. The 
next thing I did was to make a point of visiting the 
district school once a week; but I very soon found 
that this school was so mismanaged as hardly to 
deserve the name. What ought to be my first step % 
Was I to write a formal complaint to the authori- 
ties % This was a course my old father had always 
most emphatically denounced, telling me over and 
over again, that its only result would be to set the 
whole community against me. For the same reason 
I kept silence when I saw the mass of the people 



First Year. 19 

working in the fields on Sunday mornings, at which 
the old sacristan would grumble loudly, but I only 
grieved in my heart, and felt quite at a loss how to 
act, I was not to appeal, my father said, to the 
State ; and as to the people, I could not get at them, 
since they would not come to church. Out of the 
whole population, I could number only four men who 
were regular attendants. These I determined to visit 
at their own homes. The first of them was perfectly 
bewildered by my call, and I was equally embarrassed, 
and after a very short interview went away much dis- 
heartened. The second happened to be peculiarly 
busy, and I soon discovered that nothing would please 
him so well as m.y speedy departure. The third, an 
old man, who had been a soldier — one of those of 
whom it was reported that they brought in the 
French in 1806, and drove them away again in 18 13 
and 1 8 14, and who, on account of this latter exploit, 
wore an iron cross on Sundays — was sitting in his 
little back parlour, and was evidently very curious 
to know what I could want with him. When I com- 
plained to him of the wretched attendance at church, 
he replied, that indeed church-going had completely 
gone out of fashion in these parts ; and when I in- 
quired whether any were in the habit of reading the 
Bible or any old divinity at home, I received the 
same reply — all that had long gone out of fashion. 
So, too, with regard to grace before meat ; that was 
no longer fashionable hereabouts. As he was an old 



20 My Ministei'ial Experiences. 

man, and born in the village, I asked him whether 
it ever had been the fashion. Indifferent, and more 
than indifferent, as the man had hitherto been, he 
now appeared to wake up a little, and described with 
interest how his father and grandfather, who had 
occupied the same abode in the last centur)^, used to 
live. I sighed over the change, but he only repeated 
that the fashion had changed ; and I could not escape 
the conviction that, in this man's eyes, the Church and 
God's Word were mere matters of custom and habit, 
like everything else. However, he accidentally men- 
tioned an aged widow who still kept up old-fashioned 
ways, and lived in a neat little house by itself at the 
end of the village, but was unable to attend church, 
being very lame. 

My first visits, it will be owned, had not been suc- 
cessful ; I felt more at sea than ever, and could only 
call upon God to help ; and that he soon did. I was 
summoned to the bedside of the old widow, who 
wished to receive the sacrament, as she was near her 
end. This was the first time that I was called to 
prepare the dying for their departure, and I ap- 
proached the house in anxious trepidation. My old 
sacristan had been praising the invalid on our way, and 
had added that, so far as he knew, she was the only 
God-fearing woman in the whole district connected 
with the chapel-of-ease. We found her lying in a 
poor but very clean room. Four daughters and a 
son were standing around her bed weeping. I asked 



First Year. 21 

her whether she would Hke to speak to me alone, and 
whether she had anything upon her mind. She an- 
swered, 'No; whatever I may have had upon my 
mind I have already settled with the Lord Jesus ; I 
will now eat his body, and drink his blood for the 
remission of sins.' To my further inquiry, whether 
she bore enmity to any one, she replied, ' No ; I have 
forgiven everything.' At these words her children 
began to weep more bitterly than before ; and when I 
sought to find out the reason, I heard that the old wo- 
man had one other son, named Christian, who was in 
service as a stable lad in a neighbouring village. 
This youth had been formerly accustomed to give 
his mother one of the loaves of bread allowed to him 
per week, but for some time back he had formed a 
connexion with a girl of light character, and he 
had ceased ever since to contribute to his mother's 
support ; nay, when she reproached him for this, he 
had even forgotten himself so far as to threaten her 
with his fist ! When, having heard this sad story, I 
solemnly inquired of her whether she entirely forgave 
Christian, she replied, ' How should a mother do 
anything but forgive? but I know, moreover, that 
God will forgive him.' She uttered these words with 
the greatest confidence ; and when I asked how she 
knew this, went on to say, ' Ah, sir, one to whom so 
many tearful prayers cleave will never be suffered to 
perish !' Upon this I administered the holy supper ; 
and on her old, but beautiful countenance shone the 



11 My Ministerial Experiences. 

peace after which my spirit yearned. I knelt by her 
bedside while I said the parting prayer, and I prayed 
too for Christian. 

As I rode back with the sacristan, I kept repeat- 
ing the words, ' One to whom cleave so many tearful 
prayers can never perish ! ' I knew well that both my 
sisters and myself had been the subjects of many such 
prayers — for our dear mother was a pious woman. 

Soon after this the widow died, and the funeral day 
arrived. The corpse lay on the middle of the floor ; 
the dwelling-room was crowded with people who were 
eating, and drinking brandy. Around the coffin 
stood the six children of the departed. Christian with 
the rest ; but he did not shed a tear, he only gazed 
upon his mother's face with dull and glassy eyes. 
The school children were all assembled round the 
door ; the sacristan sang, read the funeral chapter in 
Thessalonians, and again struck up a hymn. But the 
eating and the brandy drinking went on all the same. 
The time came for the funeral procession to start. 
Christian walked by my side behind the coffin, but 
not one word fell from his lips, nor did he join in the 
singing though he held the hymn-book in his hand. 
When we had reached the churchyard, the sacristan 
gave out the hymn, ' Let us bury now our dead,' the 
coffin was lowered into the grave, and, with a grating 
noise, the ropes were withdrawn. I was standing by 
the sacristan, when I heard a hollow sound, and a loud 
cry from the whole assembly. When I looked down 



First Year. 23 

I saw Christian lying on the coffin, and heard him 
exclaim in a heart-piercing voice, ' My mother accuses 
me before God ! My mother accuses me before God !' 
Some young men went down and brought him up, 
but he could not stand, and kept reehng to and fro. 
After I had delivered my discourse in the church, which, 
being a written one, contained, of course, no allusion 
to this striking occurrence, I went alone with Christian 
into the school-house, and told him that his mother 
had forgiven him all, that she would never accuse 
him to God, and that he would assuredly yet be 
saved, because he had been the subject of so many 
tearful prayers. This incident struck home to several 
hearts, and the following Sunday there were more 
men than usual in church, especially young men, whom 
I had never seen there before. For the first time I 
ventured to depart a little from what I had written 
down and learned by heart, — in admonishing the young 
to honour their mothers, that they might never know 
what it was to stand beside their coffins and say, ' My 
mother is my accuser before God ! ' and I could see 
that the usually hopelessly impassive countenances 
did seem moved. 

Gradually I accustomed myself to seeing the church 
empty on Sundays, but indeed there was already some 
slight improvement in that respect. The people be- 
gan to talk a good deal about me, and if I met them 
in the fields or the village, would not only answer me, 
but stand still for a chat. Yet, after all, what did their 



24 My Almisterial Experie7ices. 

coming to church matter if their lives remained the 
same % Not one fruit of my preaching had I as yet 
seen ; my proud expectations of turning men in shoals 
from their evil ways had been quite relinquished, at 
all events by my reason. And yet Isaiah, speaking in 
the name of the Lord, does expressly declare, ' My 
word shall not return unto me void ;' and St. Paul 
teaches that the gospel is ' the power of God unto 
salvation.' No sooner had I somewhat given over 
fretting about the attendance at church, than I began 
to experience great distress of mind at the inefficacy 
of my preaching. Every other man can see the 
work of his hands, not so the pastor, at all events not 
so I ; and even my dear old sacristan seldom spoke a 
word of encouragement to me. When I stood at my 
window and saw others at work, I often reflected with 
a heavy heart upon the calling I had chosen, and 
envied all who did at least accomplish something 
tangible in return for their daily bread, while I seemed 
to do nothing at all. Sometimes, indeed, as I men- 
tioned before, I sought to soothe myself by remem- 
bering that God's spiritual kingdom is within, and 
that the influence of his word is generally unseen ; 
but, on the other hand, I knew that in the olden 
times there had been men whose setting forth of the 
Word had had mighty results, and that even in these 
days there were some whose preaching had led many 
to repentance and amendment of life. During my 
solitary strolls by the brook or on the side of the 



First Year. 25 

lake, I often stood still in desperation, and found no 
reply for the questions that perplexed my mind. I 
would willingly have laid all the blame upon the con- 
gregation, upon their sleepiness and inattention ; but 
I could not disguise from myself that there were men 
who knew how to keep others awake and arrest them, 
and therefore I could not entirely exonerate myself, 
and this led to my again agitating the question as to 
my own spiritual state. One thing grew clear to me, 
that a sermon must not only contain abstract truth, 
but that it must be a sincere utterance of the indivi- 
dual preacher. Orthodoxy can be learnt from others ; 
living faith must be a matter of personal experience. 
The Lord sent out his disciples, saying, ' Ye shall 
testify of me, because ye have been with me from the 
beginning.' He only is a witness who speaks of 
what he has seen with his own eyes, heard with his 
own ears, and handled with his own hands. Ortho- 
doxy is merely another form of rationalism, if it be 
learnt from without. To which we may add, that the 
system of Lutheran theology is logical in the highest 
degree, and consequently affords, by the very preci- 
sion of its formulae, a certain gratification to the natural 
understanding. Doubtless, with regard to the Church 
itself, and its government, orthodoxy is far preferable 
to rationalism, but as to its influence upon preaching- 
it differs little. It may only serve to quiet the con- 
science of the pastor with a false peace, and to set the 
congregation to sleep. 1 saw plainly enough how one 



26 My Ministerial Expe7^ie7ices. 

became orthodox, but could not discover how to be 
a witness. Those words of the Lord, ' Because ye 
have been with me from the beginning,' I would 
willingly have applied to myself ; but I was forced to 
confess that though I might indeed have beheld him 
from time to time afar off, I had not yet been ' with 
him.' A feeling of poverty and helplessness came 
over me, and I took delight in reflecting upon the 
text, ' Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven ;' but with my conceptions of 
blessedness I was far from rightly understanding the 
beautiful words. 

It is indeed a most remarkable circumstance that 
there should be so few who are seriously anxious 
about their own salvation ; and the lament of the 
Psalmist as to the careless security of the human race 
is certainly well founded. At all events, one seldom 
hears any such anxiety expressed by pastors and 
theological candidates ; and yet it is especially hard 
for a minister to be saved, for he belongs to those 
from whom much will be required. If the words of 
the Lord, ' Narrow is the gate, and strait the way,' 
are to be literally understood, how incomprehensible 
it is that so few men should have any anxiety as to 
their personal chances of salvation. Many and many 
pastors live as though their being amongst the saved 
were a thing of course. 

On one occasion, when I was upon a visit to my 
aged father, the old Bible, with its small print and 



First Year. 27 

yellow leaves, lying as usual upon his table, I chanced 
to take it up, and my eye fell upon the many marked 
passages. One verse especially was so underlined 
with red, blue, and black ink, that it was only legible 
to those who already knew it. This old Bible had 
come down from my great-grandfather to us, so this 
particular text must have been a favourite with the 
family for generations. It was the passage in Philip- 
pians, ' He who hath begun a good work in you, will 
perform it until the day of Christ.' I should have 
liked to have asked my father why he as well as his 
ancestors had so scored this verse ; but I did not do 
so, because he was never in the habit of discussing 
his inner life with his children. On my journey back 
these words of St. Paul's were constantly in my mind. 
What, then, was this good work % And what was its 
beginning % And if it is the Lord who must begin it, 
how can it be my fault if it be not begun in me % 
After much pondering I resolved to preach upon this 
passage on the following Sunday, in spite of my so 
imperfectly understanding it. Indeed, as to that, 
what passage could I have found that I so understood 
as to be able to bear witness of it % After the lapse 
of many years this youthful discourse is fresh in my 
memor}'. While I was delivering it, I forgot the 
empty church and the sleepy congregation — I was 
with my God alone. When I look over this sermon 
now, I find it indeed obscure and confused, but full 
of the yearning, and groaning, and travailing of the 



•28 My Ministerial Experiences. 

creature after the glorious liberty of the children of 
God. That afternoon, when playing draughts, as I 
often did with the old pastor, he warned me against 
mysticism and fanaticism ; but in the evening I met 
the sacristan, who was more cordial and confidential 
than usual, and even told me that my sermon had 
pleased him. Indeed, weak as it was, and inadequate 
as a statement of the way of salvation, it was never- 
theless true and complete as a transcript of my 
spiritual state and spiritual need. By this time I had 
taken one onward step — I knew that the good work 
begins when a man is seriously alarmed lest he should 
be lost, and when he from his heart desires to be 
saved. And accordingly I could thank the good 
Shepherd for having begun this good work in me. 

If we distinguish among poets between those who 
make verses^ and those in whom verses are born; we 
may, with equal justice, distinguish between those ser- 
mons written according to rule, and with infinite 
trouble, and those that gush forth from the preacher's 
own inner life. It is, however, a very hazardous thing 
to wait the whole week through, and expect day 
after day that the happy hour will at length arrive 
in the which it will be given us to compose our ser- 
mon. He who will receive grace must use the 
means of grace. All preaching springs from the 
Word of God, and is in one sense a gift, and nothing 
more is necessary than to live upon the gospel ; but 
it v/ill never do to keep thinking the while of the 



First Year. 29 

rules of composition and the faults of the flock. No ; 
it is above all essential that the preacher should place 
himself under the power of the text, and with prayer 
and self-examination seek to discover how it applies 
to himself^ — what reproof and consolation, what warn- 
ing and nourishment it contains for his own soul. 
He will soon find that the experience of his own 
heart will win its way to the hearts of others. As 
painted victuals cannot satisfy the appetite, so putting 
imaginary cases and speaking from without is power- 
less and lifeless, and the sermon goes in at one ear 
and out at the other. 

Before long another conviction forced itself upon 
me. If my preaching were somewhat less trite and 
lifeless, somewhat more genuine than of yore, still 
it lacked the elements of popularity; its style was 
not appropriate to the hearers. My own poor life 
was too simple and too different from that of the 
congregation at large, and I sadly felt the need of 
knowing them more intimately. It is not enough 
to hold up God's word in its entirety to a spiritually 
lifeless congregation, one must have skill to adapt 
it to all the relations of their daily life. There are 
admirable sermons which make no impression at all 
upon the hearers ! If, at the first outset, the preacher 
place himself on the top of the tree or the hill, the 
congregation being seated far below him, they do 
indeed hear what the man, perched on the height, 
says, but they do net see what he describes, and they 



30 My Ministerial Experiences, 

have some difficulty in believing that he actually sees 
it himself in the exact colours in which he represents 
it to them. But if he gradually rises, taking their level 
as a starting point, and gradually enlarges his horizon, 
perhaps he may lead some one or other to take an 
onward step with him, or at least more readily to 
believe that he does see farther than they. Or to 
speak without any metaphor : the preacher must first 
meet the people on their o\vn ground, and then, in 
all love and humility, proffer his hand to them, and 
constrain them by the tenderness of his entreaties to 
let themselves be led a little above the domain of 
mere earthly life. But it may be asked, how is this 
possible in a community of young and old, rich and 
poor, healthy and sick, all differing from one another 
in character and circumstances ? St. Paul shall give 
the reply : ' For there is no difference, for all have 
sinned.' He who knows one man thoroughly, knows a 
whole class. All peasants have much the same range of 
ideas ; and so with women, youths, young girls, servants 
— the way of thinking will be found the same, wherever 
there is a similarity of culture and condition. And 
further, we may safely assume that all the uncon- 
verted are without peace, consolation, or hope, and 
have their hearts full of yearning after a happier 
state. And we may also assume that, in any com- 
munity where ordinances are very ill attended, those 
who go to church at all are peculiarly conscious of 
some need which they are thus vaguely seeking to 



Fii'st Year. 31 

supply. Now, if we are once able to make some in- 
dividual of this class clearly discern what it is he 
wants, if he once discovers that the preacher knows 
more about him than he knows about himself, he 
will willingly let himself be led on, impelled by his 
sense of need, and allured by the promises ; and so 
he follows the minister till the thread breaks. What 
an admirable example our Lord, by his teaching in 
parables, sets to preachers ; and how evident it is 
that attention is invariably awaked whenever the 
preacher knows how to interweave into his sermon 
the incidents of daily life. 

The positive relation of the individual soul to God 
is indeed a mystery ; but it is certain that the Divine 
grace manifests itself in the manner of life, and that 
God would have us awake to a sense of sin, and 
a need of salvation by Christ. However, it is a 
great mistake in deaUng with a lifeless congregation 
to begin by the preaching of the law, and by blaming 
people for their irreligion, and threatening them with 
damnation unless they repent. One may, indeed, 
reprove and chasten those really awakened, but the 
unconverted must be won by love, and by the an- 
nouncement of grace and mercy. The apostle tells 
us that we are to pray and beseech in Christ's stead. 
A pastor full of threats and wrath will never do any 
good, more especially if he is young in years or 
spiritual life. But, above all, let no minister betray 
his sensitiveness or wounded vanity as to a scanty 



3 2 My Ministerial Experiences, 

attendance at church, or show himself angry with 
the defaulters. The few who do hear his complaint are 
amused, and by no means edified ; and when this strain 
reaches the ears of the others, they only laugh. If the 
pastor really mourns over the lifeless state of the con- 
gregation, and is really humble, he will be far more in- 
clined to lay the blame of this non-attendance upon 
himself than upon others. Humility is ever the fair- 
est fruit of faith, and finds favour even with the children 
of this world, and a pastor should earnestly follow 
after the best gifts. True, this may be carried too 
far ; there are people constitutionally so retiring, that 
they would never enter any door, however invitingly 
open it might stand ; but still there is nothing that 
so repels a flock, as to observe that he who calls him- 
self a servant of Christ has never taken one lesson 
of humility in his Master's school. If a man be 
proud and arbitrary, rapid and severe in his judg- 
ment of others, if, in the consciousness of his own 
worth, he looks from the pulpit down upon the 
people, and speaks to them without betraying the 
least touch of a broken and contrite heart of his own, 
what wonder if they keep away ? 

Again, it may be well to remark, that we are never 
quite right in assuming that men feel happy in the 
service of sin, or under the dominion of the flesh, 
or that they experience unqualified pleasure in any 
course of evil doing. They all have hours in which they 
are ashamed of their bondage, and would willingly be 



First Year. jj 

free; and he who comes to meet them with heart- 
felt sympathy will assuredly be patiently listened 
to. And also it is paying unbelief too great a com- 
pliment to treat it as a reality. People are not so 
unbelieving as they give themselves out; they are, 
at all events, by no means certain of their position, 
and are often conscious that they are deceiving them- 
selves. A man is not speaking the truth when he 
tells you that he believes in no God, no immortality 
of the soul, no judgment to come. The fear of per- 
dition is a very frequent source of unbelief We 
must not, therefore, presuppose genuine unbelief; we 
must rather seek to expose the falsity of the pretence 
to it. And, in the same way, we may safely proceed 
upon the assumption that the servants of sin have 
occasionally a secret longing for dominion over the 
flesh. He who denies to them such longing does 
them injustice, and they harden their hearts against 
him ; but they will not avoid one who has a sincere 
sympathy for them, both in their temptations and their 
better impulses. If we have only dwelt long upon 
God's patience and forbearance towards ourselves, 
v/e shall leave off all impatient anger with others. 

At first I thought that I must wait till winter time to 
become really acquainted with the people, though how 
I v/as then to set about it, was by no means clear to me. 
What was I to talk to them about % Where should I 
find common ground % But, meanwhile, the task had 
already been unconsciously begun. In the district 



3 4 My Min isteria I Exper{e7tces. 

connected with the chapel-of-ease, my attempt at 
visiting from house to house had seemed a failure, 
though it might have taught me many lessons. In 
the parish itself, I had already been in most of the 
houses, on matters connected with the children, 
either to visit such of them as were sick, or to press 
others to come to school. The sacristan often re- 
marked that the school had not been so well attended 
for years. I may here observe, that most young begin- 
ners in the pastoral ofhce take up very mistaken 
ideas about visiting their people, and holding com- 
munication with thenij going about as if with their 
gown on, and speaking as though they were in the 
pulpit. It may indeed be that there are still com- 
munities where this is practicable, but generally it is 
not judicious, more especially where it has become 
obsolete. Visiting one's flock may have a double re- 
sult, may do good to them, and to one's-self also. 
For my own part, I found that to speak to them of 
God's word, or their own spiritual state, was at that 
time entirely beyond my power. The next best thing 
that occurred to me was to try to find out their mode 
of life, what they did, talked about, and, above all, 
thought of I wanted to gain an acquaintance with 
their cares and griefs, their pleasures and their wishes. 
Many a pastor believes that he already knows all this, 
but he is probably more conversant with a picture 
drawn by his own imagination than with reality. Lis- 
tening to the spontaneous utterance of the people is 



First Year. 2iS 

very different from trying to represent to one's-self their 
mental condition. A day-labourer, a farm-servant, is 
doubtless a human being, but he does not live very 
differently to a mere animal — he eats, sleeps, labours, 
and rests as animals do ; another world than this is 
shut out from his ken ; he has so little conception of 
another life, that even the burial of his neighbour or 
his child hardly suggests it to his mind. Gluttony, 
vanity, impurity, envy, and selfishness have so taken 
possession of him, that he has scarcely any idea of 
spiritual liberty. Now there are many pastors who 
are skilled in demonstrating the necessity of redemption, 
yet find that they make no impression upon a class 
like this. The essential is to awake in them the wish 
for redemption. The best chance of effecting this is 
afforded by those seasons when the sorrows of life, 
the suffering of sickness, domestic discord, or the 
disgrace that follows sin, have made the heart more 
than usually susceptible. When the Lord addresses 
his invitation to men, it is to the weary and heavy 
laden that -he turns; and doubtless these epithets 
do not apply merely to those who feel the burden of 
their sins, but to those also who are laden with the 
weight of grief of any kind. In our parish-visiting, 
we must give the preference to those families where 
affliction, in whatsoever form, has entered, and, in- 
deed, it is never absent from those houses where sin 
dwells without any counteracting faith. No doubt 
some people will try to conceal their troubles as 



3 



6 3fy Mmisterial Experiences. 



they do their sins, more especially if these troubles 
are evident consequences of sin. But I repeat it, an 
experienced minister may safely address all uncon- 
verted souls as weary, and if he does this with the same 
tender heart with which Christ of old looked upon 
Jerusalem — because unmindful in the day of her visita- 
tion of those things which belonged to her peace — 
he will often be readily understood, will often meet 
with a willing ear where he had not ventured to look 
for it. Generally speaking, there is in every district a 
certain number whose sins are open and manifest, 
and who are ready to listen to any one who speaks 
to them without reproaches and without contempt. 

Besides these universal conditions, there are plenty 
of more special interests which will afford the mini- 
ster the common ground he seeks. For instance, the 
old soldier with the iron cross, whom I mentioned 
before, was fond of talking of the war of liberation, 
of the battles and struggles of those momentous 
days, which made our fatherland so great, and the 
memory of which never stirred our hearts more than 
at the present time. Whenever, in the introduction 
to one of my sermons, I alluded to those stirring events, 
those engagements, those hard conflicts, his sympathy 
was aroused, and he would accompany me a little 
further into a consideration of that other warfare and 
those other triumphs of the flesh and of the Spirit, 
which are contrary one to the other. Again, upon 
another occasion, I chanced to see a young man who 



First Year, 37 

was following the plough in a field alone, shedding 
tears. I did not like to notice it at the time lest he 
should feel embarrassed ; but I soon contrived to find 
out that he had recently left his home and his beloved 
parents, and that the farmer in whose sei"vice he was 
treated him roughly ; it was a case evidently of home- 
sickness. Now this was a complaint I too well knew ; 
I spoke a few friendly words to him, and when, on 
the following Sunday, I dwelt upon the sufferings of 
the home-sick, and then passed on to the spiritual 
longing for the heavenly Father's house, I could see 
plainly that the young man understood me. In- 
deed, I generally found that those whom I had 
visited in the course of the week, or with whom I 
had had some conversation, were pretty sure to come 
to church on the Sunday; and, accordingly, I contrived 
that my sermon should have some particular reference 
to their case, and should be calculated to strike where 
I had found them vulnerable. This established con- 
fidential relations between us. The individual be- 
lieved that I spoke for him alone, and that he alone 
fully understood me; and yet he was only one of 
many who found themselves in the same condition. 
For, I repeat it, he who hits the case of one hits the 
case of a class ; and besides, whatever has the im- 
press of truth and reality, will interest even those who 
are not directly concerned therein. 

Experiences such as these gave before long an en- 
tirely new character to my preaching; I began in- 



o 



8 My Ministerial Experiences. 



variably with everyday incidents of actual occurrence, 
and then by analogy sought to lead my hearers on 
to the spiritual truths of the kingdom of God. I re- 
member one sermon in particular, suggested to me by 
the fact of a child having, through fear of well- 
deserved punishment, run off into the wood, and 
when evening came being missed by the parents, who 
instantly instituted an anxious search, and at length 
found the little truant asleep in the brushwood. I 
first painted the fear and apprehension of the child, 
and its consequent flight ; then the love of the parents 
who sought their child j and at last, the joy and 
happiness of child and parents when the wanderer 
was found ; and I pointed out how the Lord was come 
to seek and save lost children and lost parents both. 
Then, again, a fire that broke out and burnt down a 
mill afforded a rich vein of illustration ; and so did 
the various occupations of agricultural life — sow- 
ing, reaping, ploughing, harrowing, droughts, floods — 
whatever excited customary hopes and fears, was sure 
to rouse attention. Deaths and domestic events in 
general were often alluded to with much advantage. 
In the parish church the attendance was now de- 
cidedly much better, and there was hardly any more 
sleeping to be seen there. Things went on more 
slowly in the chapel-of-ease, but there was some pro- 
gress even there. I began to take much more delight 
in my intercourse with the people, and their manner 
visibly increased in friendliness. No doubt our con- 



First Year. 39 

versations ran far more upon secular than upon 
heavenly topics ; we talked far more about our fields 
and our favourite cattle, than about prayer and the 
word of God, but I know that I found the prepara- 
tion of my discourses far less irksome than heretofore ; 
and when I looked about me in church, I 'encoun- 
tered no longer the same impassive, lifeless, apathetic 
countenances ; and further, my old sacristan often told 
me that the people liked talking over my sermons in 
their own homes. Yet still I had to return to the one 
great question. What signifies preaching and all 
other means of grace whatsoever — what is the use of 
people coming to church if they are not converted % 
And hitherto there had not been a sign of this, nor did 
I know with certainty of one single person who sought 
after the salvation of his soul with fear and trembHng. 
There was at that time an old and singular man 
living in the village, the son of whose old age I had 
become acquainted with in school, where he distin- 
guished himself among the other children by his ear- 
nestness, and his devotion during prayer. All manner 
of anecdotes were circulated about this boy's father. 
One day, it seemed, he had heard his neighbours — a 
farmer and his wife — quarrelling very loudly and 
fiercely, and from words proceeding to blows. Upon 
this he took a ladder, set it against the high paling 
that surrounded the farm-yard, mounted it, and cried 
with a loud voice, ' Fire, fire !' The farmer and his 
wife rushed to the door, and inquired, ' Where is the 



40 My Aliiiisterial Experiences. . 

fire %' The old man replied, ' In hell, for all who are 
at enmity and strife.' After this incident, the expres- 
sion, ' There's fire in the house,' became proverbially 
applied amongst the villagers to the case of a quarrel- 
some pair. I had been told that this old man detested 
ministers, called them foxes and swine ravaging the 
vineyard, and never by any chance came to church. 
He was a thatcher by trade, and w^as seldom to be 
met with at home. On Sunday afternoon I called upon 
him, and found him singing a hymn with his boy, with 
a large book lying open before him — the sermons of 
Spangenberg. He was very dry to me, and spoke all 
the time of false and true doctrine. It v/as false doc- 
trine that was preached now-a-days in the church ; 
true doctrine was only to be found in the old divines. 
And although he did put a certain restraint upon him- 
self, yet there was much evident bitterness in the tone 
with which he spoke of the behaviour of ministers in 
general, and the lamentable condition of their con- 
gregations. He knew, he said, that wheat and tares 
were intended to grow together, but now the wheat had 
almost all vanished, and nothing but tares remained ; 
in short, it was no longer possible to look upon modern 
congregations as the visible church ; self-righteousness 
and ungodliness had entirely overgrown them. The 
fault lay, he averred, with the pastors, who widened 
their borders, and enjoyed their income, but did not 
trouble themselves about souls ; who clothed them- 
selves, indeed, with the wool of the flock, and ate their 



First Yea7\ 41 

flesh, but never led them to feed on the pastures of 
God's word, gave them only the dry husks of human 
reason. And thus it was that my first acquaintance 
with a Seceder began. I had little idea at the time how 
much I was to have to do with them in the future, 
nor what trouble and sorrow they would occasion 
me. I left this old man with a feeling of sincere re- 
gard, and a determination to preach nothing but sound 
doctrine, and, at all events, to give no offence to the 
flock by my conduct. When the old pastor heard 
that I had not only conversed with, but actually paid 
a visit to, this old controversialist, he warned me 
against him as one who presumed to judge and con- 
demn him and the whole parish, and denounced him 
as a schismatic. But I was aware that, in the lan- 
guage of Scripture, the sin of schism is attributed 
to those only who depart from God's word and sacra- 
ments, and I did not believe this old man to be 
really guilty of it. The following Sunday I saw him 
in church, where his appearance evidently excited 
a good deal of attention ; and the old sacristan in- 
formed me that he had pronounced me a preacher 
of sound doctrine, though as yet in much weakness. 
In the course of my conversations with the people 
during the ensuing week, I found out that this modi- 
fied approval of the old thatcher, insignificant person- 
age as he seemed, had considerably raised me in the 
general estimation. It was well known that he was 
an enemy to ministers in general, averring that they 



42 My Ministerial Expeinences, 

preached unsoundly, and consequently great stress 
was laid upon the exception he made in my favour ; 
nor do I attempt to deny that I too was mightily 
pleased at it. Pastors make a mistake when they 
imagine that the good word of the worldly and irre- 
ligious adds to their respectability. Whatever men 
may say about liking a minister who lives and lets 
live, and will in his sermons widen the narrow way 
a little, they do not really approve it ; and experience 
shows plainly enough that natural gifts, be they ever 
so brilliant, will not long satisfy a congregation or fill 
a church. When God touches a man's heart, and 
makes him yearn for comfort, he will invariably 
turn to a pastor who bears the character of being 
pious and orthodox ; it is only the Cross of 
Christ that has any attractive influence upon even 
the careless soul. Even those who dispense their 
church patronage to boon companions, who can play 
a hand at cards well, inwardly despise them, and very 
seldom go to their churches. A pastor who gives 
offence to the pious members of the congregation, ay, 
to the very humblest of them, will not obtain the re- 
spect of even the worldly. 

To resume my narrative. The church then went 
on gradually filling, but still I could discover no 
trace of any good result, and I could only refer this 
filling of the church to my daily visits to the school, 
and to the increasing affection displayed by the 
children ; for he who has the hearts of the children 



First Year. 43 

is sure to win those of the parents. The attention 
paid to my sermons became much more marked, and 
there was hardly a sleeper to be seen ; but of what 
avail is hearing if conduct remains unaltered. The 
old sacristan and the eccentric thatcher spoke much of 
the power of prayer. Now, my sore anxiety and distress 
about the composition of my sermons, and also about 
my own spiritual state, had driven me to prayer for 
myself, but as yet I had never prayed specially for 
the congregation. I now determined daily to put up 
intercessory prayer for both my cures, but I own that 
my faith and courage soon failed. It was not, indeed, 
that I had any doubts of the power of God's word, 
or that with God all things were possible, but yet, 
when I looked at the daily domestic life of the pa- 
rishioners, and saw how insensible they seemed to 
a higher world, or to the care of their souls, I seemed 
to have no spirit to ask for the performance of such 
a miracle as their conversion. However, it occurred 
to me to pray that it might be granted to me to find 
out and touch the heart of some one individual. And 
yet when I thought who that one should be — turned 
over the case now of this man, now of that, my courage 
died away. At length I determined to choose my 
next door neighbour, whom, out of my window, I 
daily saw in his farmyard, and who, in point of fact, 
was neither better nor worse than other farmers. I 
continued to intercede for him for some weeks, and 
was soon conscious of a feehng of increased interest 



44 ^^ Ministejdal Experiences. 

and affection for hini. But when I heard him, as in- 
deed I often did, swear at or quarrel with his wife, or 
play cards on Sundays till quite late into the night, or 
go into the public-house, I own I found it rather diffi- 
cult to persevere in my prayers. However, one day 
that I was preaching about the unhappiness of those 
who Hve without God in the world, and more especially 
about the discomforts of an irreligious married pair ; 
how they daily vex and irritate each other; how Satan 
delights to make them instruments of mutual tor- 
ment; and what lamentable consequences ensue to 
the poor children ; I could see the water come into 
my neighbour's eyes, and unconventional and un- 
usual as it might seem for a rich farmer to shed tears 
in church, he could not keep them back. At this 
my hope revived, and I thanked God. However, 
that very afternoon, after my return from the chapel- 
of-ease, I heard a great uproar as I sat in my quiet 
chamber, and, moving to my window, I saw my 
neighbour beating his shepherd lads, and swearing 
most fearfully. His wife came running up, and tried 
to screen the youths ; but she set about it in so ill- 
judged a manner that the tumult only grew worse. 
I was dreadfully discouraged at this, and it even 
occurred to me to give up my intercessory prayer for 
this unpromising subject. In the evening I went out 
walking in the fields, and met my neighbour; who, 
though he held out his hand with the utmost friend- 
liness, yet felt, I obsei-ved, embarrassed in my pre- 



First Yea7\ - 45 

sence. He spoke of many different subjects, and 
seemed resolved to keep the conversation in his own 
hands ; but indeed my own natural timidity and my 
youth were sufficient to prevent my touching upon the 
subject uppermost in the minds of both. However, 
that evening I renewed my intercession. Some time 
after I heard it remarked that he had left off going 
to the public-house and playing at cards, and I could 
see that he took a real pleasure in doing me any 
little service. Once, when the horse that I v/as ac- 
customed to ride was working in the fields, and I 
was summoned in great haste to a sick person in the 
outlying district, and about to walk off thither through 
the rain, my neighbour chanced to hear it, and immedi- 
ately he came to the hedge that divided the parson- 
age from his farm, and called out, ' I'll have my 
horse put in and drive you over.' Noav, as it was 
sowing-time, and he was a keen farmer, this kind 
act really implied no little sacrifice, and, further, he 
drove me himself, that I might not have to give 
anything to the servant, for he knew well how 
small my income was, only, indeed, amounting to ten 
Thalers a month, given me by the old pastor. A 
minister is very wrong to be indifferent to any proof 
of good will or affection that he may receive — he 
ought rather to be deeply grateful for it ; for in many 
cases love for the minister is a sort of stepping-stone 
to love of the Lord — only let the minister see that he 
keep himself humble. 



4-6 My Ministerial Experiences, 

Time went on. Harvest came, the days had grown 
short, when late one evening I heard a knock at my 
door. It was my neighbour, who came to pay me a 
visit for the first time. Plainly he had some special 
reason for this step, but, after the manner of country 
people, he did not allude to it at once ; he went on 
talking of his horses and cows, his fami, and his chil- 
dren, and after an hour so spent prepared to go away, 
just saying, when he reached the door, that he ^^dshed 
to attend the Sacrament on the next day but one, 
and adding in a broken voice, ' Pray for me and for 
my wife.' Upon this I drew him back, and informed 
him how long I had been in the habit of praying 
for them. He sighed deeply, and said, ' I would 
gladly be saved, but I have been a great sinner in 
the course of my life.' At this my joy was so great, 
I had to pause and reflect what reply I might safely 
make. He consented to kneel do^m with me. That 
evening I was so happy and so thankful to God, the 
hearer of prayer, that when I went to bed it was long 
before I could fall asleep. 

At the end of the year, when Christmas and New 
Year, and the Sundays of that holy season, with their 
several sermons rose before my mind, and threatened 
me with their claims, I had another period of great 
anxiety to pass through. The old pastor had told 
me that I need not preach on the fourth Sunday in 
Advent, as he himself meant to undertake the Holy 
Communion, and expected further assistance from a 



First Year. 47 

friend. But when that friend arrived late on Satur- 
day evening, I was summoned, and informed that he 
had only prepared himself to take a part in the 
prayers, and had taken for granted that I should 
preach as usual. In short, he positively announced 
that he had not brought any sermon, and was unable 
to preach without a manuscript before him. 

The old pastor, for his part, declared himself 
unwell ; and as for me, I held it impossible to com- 
pose and learn a sermon by heart in so short a 
space of time. Accordingly, the old sacristan was 
sent for, and told that he would have to read one ; 
but he, having received these instructions, came up 
to my room, and requested me to make an effort 
to preach. ' What will the congregation say,' asked 
he, 'when they see three ordained clergymen sit 
there in their canonicals while I read % It will never 
do.' He laboured hard to give me courage, and 
pointed me out the epistle for the day : ' Rejoice 
in the Lord alway : and again I say, Rej oice. Be 
careful for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, 
. . . and the peace of God shall help your hearts,' etc. 
It seemed to him that surely it would be easy enough 
to preach on that passage without much preparation, 
I felt ashamed of myself in his presence, and though 
I did not know what would come of it, I gave in at 
length, and promised to preach. All that evening, 
and all night through, I tried to subdue my constitu- 
tional timidity by prayer. As to my usual plan of pre- 



48 My Ministerial Experiences, 

paring a sermon — writing it down and learning it off 
— that was not to be thought of. When the bell rang 
early the following morning, all my terror came back 
upon me, but I constrained myself to pray. I went 
up into the pulpit, and just opposite me, in the choir, I 
saw the old sacristan standing with clasped hands, and 
at once all fear and embarrassment seemed to drop 
away from me. It was the first time that I had ever 
preached extempore, and the Lord was very merciful 
to me. I was a good deal overcome at the end 
of my sermon, when speaking of the peace that 
passeth understanding, and the congregation shared 
my emotion. At the close of the service, my neigh- 
bour and the old sacristan came up to me and shook 
me by the hand. But it was all over with me in 
the estimation of the strange pastor, who spoke much 
durinof dinner and in the course of the afternoon 
of the lamentable errors of mysticism and of a 
mediaeval theology. It was not till years after this cir- 
cumstance that I could venture habitually to preach 
extempore ; for I only attributed my success on this 
occasion to the Lord having helped me, because I 
had not neglected due preparation out of indolence 
or presumption. But things are changed noAv-a-days, 
and youthful pastors now take to preaching after 
merely what they call careful meditation. It may in- 
deed be that they have not to contend with such diffi- 
culties as I had. I know that I had great trouble with 
the dialect, and was far from clear as to points of doc- 



First Year. 49 

trine ; but, nevertheless, I do consider it very wrong 
for men in general to presume upon a gift of extem- 
pore speaking, which is the portion of very few. That 
some succeed, is no precedent for all. The conse- 
quences of this foolish self-confidence — so I must call 
it — or this idle habit, are too palpable. It is easy 
enough to string words together ; but there is often a 
lack of thought, and then the discourse is mere 
copious, unconnected twaddle, to which the unfortu- 
nate pastor knows not how to put an end, however 
anxiously the congregation awaits one. The range 
of ideas becomes narrower and narrower, the repe- 
titions more intolerable. Then, again, the delivery 
grows at length affected and artificial. The voice is 
called upon to supply the deficiencies of the intellect. 
The preacher feels that he must say something strik- 
ing, something out of the common, and adapts his 
tones accordingly ; but the striking passages will not 
come ! Some fall into a solemn would-be pathos ; 
others work themselves up into a state of offensive 
excitement. . In short, it is scarcely possible to warn 
young preachers too earnestly to beware of extem- 
porizing. Presumption is never allowed to go un- 
punished ; only the humble have the promise of help. 
In the first years of my ministry, I never composed 
a sermon but in the sweat of my brow, and with 
great fear and anxiety ; and it was only much later on 
in life, when, having to preach three and generally 
four times on the Sunday, I found it intolerable to re- 

D 



50 My Ministerial Experiences, 

peat my one discourse, and impossible to write out 
and learn so many, that I began to take the matter 
more easily. 

But enough on the subject of preaching. My first 
year taught me that pure doctrine, and the unadul- 
terated Word of God, were indeed the main points ; 
but that prayer for one's own soul and the souls of the 
congregation, and not only so, but intercessory prayer 
for individuals in that congregation, were also essen- 
tial ; and, lastly, that one must beware of preaching 
over the heads of one's hearers. And it is equally 
necessary carefully to discover how to get access to 
the people, and what means may most effectually be 
used to lead them out of their earthly cares, out of 
the range of things seen and temporal, to solicitude 
respecting the salvation of their souls, and the great 
realities of the unseen world. 

All beginnings are difficult. This I had had ex- 
perience of with regard to preaching ; and so it was 
again in preparing the young members of my flock 
for confirmation. This preparation begins with us 
in the middle of November and lasts till Palm- 
Sunday. There was no room for these confirmation 
classes to meet in the parsonage ; and in order to 
interfere as little as possible with the regular business 
of the school, we had to assemble them in the 
school-room on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 
eleven to one. These young people call themselves 



First Year. 51 

* prayer children ;' and their parents say, '■ I want my 
son or my daughter taught to pray.' At the close of 
this course of instruction, the candidates are admitted 
to the sacrament ; and one often hears old or sick 
people express a wish to live till they can see this or 
that child a partaker at the Lord's table. There was 
an outward difference between these particular scho- 
lars and the others ; the children, or at all events 
the girls, coming to the confirmation-class better 
dressed. From the outlying district boys and girls 
came in separate bands — the boys were rather the 
earlier. There was a certain earnestness and feeling 
of responsibility evident in the bearing of all these 
young people ; but there was a great difference be- 
tween those who belonged to the parish church and 
to the chapel-of-ease : the latter were much less well- 
grounded both in the Catechism and Bible history. 
Some of the mistakes which they habitually made 
showed an utter want of reflection, and in gene- 
ral they struck one as hopelessly dull and im- 
passive. In their whole district there was no one, 
not even the master, who could speak High German. 
Some few youths, indeed, who had served in the 
army, or been to the town, might have been able to 
do so, only it would have been very unpopular, and 
they would have been ridiculed for their conceit in 
speaking djfiferently to the rest. With regard to girls 
especially this held good ; and she who wore a longer 
dress, or spoke a purer dialect than her neighbour, 



5 2 My Ministerial Experiences. 

was looked upon as a doubtful character. For my 
own part, I had been very familiar with Low German 
from my early days, and invariably employed it in 
speaking to the people in their own homes or out in 
the fields ; but our children had been accustomed to 
learn their hymns and Bible-lessons in High German, 
Those, however, connected with the chapel-of-ease evi- 
dently attached no meaning to the words, and repeated 
all alike in one frightful sing-song. In our village the 
old sacristan, in school time, spoke Low German to 
the little children ; to the elders he sometimes used 
High ; but at all events, when he was angry, he 
always scolded in Low. My old friend, the thatcher, 
on the other hand, always prayed in High German. 
I took the sacristan's advice on the subject, and he 
gave it in favour of adhering to High German, since 
his children, he said, did understand it ; and as for 
the others, they were such a stupid set, it did not 
matter how you spoke to them. When the classes 
assembled, I was struck with the order they adopted. 
The sons of the bailiff and of the church-wardens 
took the highest places ; next came the farmers' 
boys ; then the shopkeepers' ; last of all, the thatcher's 
son ; the girls being arranged on the same plan. 
The sacristan strongly advised me to let the children 
go on placing themselves thus, both because there 
would otherwise be a greater amount of noise, and 
also because it was always a ticklish thing to meddle 
with existing customs, — the social difference between 



First Year. 53 

farmers, tradesmen, and day-labourers being invari- 
ably marked, on the one side by consequence, assumed 
on the other by respect paid. This was made parti- 
cularly evident on all festive occasions, and even in 
the places taken at church. The man-servant and 
maid-servant certainly call their master and mistress 
father and mother, and the whole household dined 
at one table ; but for all that, each had a strong feel- 
ing of his own particular position, and it ver}^ sel- 
dom happened that they married out of it. A 
farmer's wife would say, ' My daughter is too young 
to think of marrying beneath her,' even when she 
had reached the age of thirty. 

I found the first lessons I gave these classes sad, 
uphill work. I could not get at the children's minds. 
Certainly they learned their appointed lessons with 
much zeal and industry, but I was afraid they did 
not understand them. However, I soon discovered 
those who had the best capacities, and were the most 
willing to be spoken to, and began to call them to 
me, and to accustom them to answer my questions, 
which related at first to every-day matters, and then 
gradually took a religious character. But I could not 
get the majority beyond the mere saying their lessons 
by rote. This was trying enough, and yet how could 
I reasonably expect anything better % In their homes 
there was no family prayer ; the Bible was not read ; 
the old sermon books lay hidden in a comer — gone 
wholly out of fashion. From their tender infancy 



54 ^^y MinisteiHal Experiences. 

these young creatures had heard of nothing but the 
business or daily cares of their parents. The school 
was a thing quite apart from their domestic life, and 
had but little influence, the instruction being given 
quite mechanically, and occupying itself more with 
storing the memory than awakening the intellect. I 
was obliged to lower my plans and prospects con- 
siderably ; and it was long before the stolid faces and 
fixed looks became at all more animated. Indeed, 
it was no easy task for the children to find their way 
in such an entirely new sphere of thought. I began 
by talking over the beautiful, simple precepts they 
had already learned at school; as, for example, ' Fear 
God, dear children. God sees and knows all things. 
Amen.' This precept gradually led us on to the ten 
commandments, and even to the first article of faith. 
Then came the next : ' Christ's blood and righteous- 
ness,' etc., which bore upon the second article ; and 
so we went on. At the present time schools are very 
different to what they were then ; at all events, chil- 
dren are much more ready in speech, though perhaps 
not so well grounded in the Catechism. I soon con- 
vinced myself that it was mere waste of time to plague 
the poor little things, with definitions and theories, and 
confined myself to making them give some illustration 
of their own of the different clauses of the Catechism. 
We got on best with the commandments, worst with 
the third article, and with those bearing on the sacra- 
ments, perhaps because I did not feel myself quite 



First Year. 55 

at home on the latter subject. There is this pecuh- 
arity about the gospel doctrines, they are not to be 
learned, or taught from books ; they can only be 
understood and made intelligible by personal ex- 
perience. Such of them as had become true and 
clear to myself individually, I was able to treat of so 
as to secure the attention and sympathy of the chil- 
dren. My chief aim was to point out how this or 
that commandment might be kept or disobeyed 
^vithin the narrow sphere of a child's daily life, and 
what influence this or that doctrine ought to exercise 
on the conduct of a child, as say, for example, the 
omnipresence and the omniscience of God, and the 
relation into which baptism had brought them with 
their Heavenly Father. I dwelt very long on the 
fifth commandment ; and as I was already pretty 
familiar with the family-life of the village, I was able 
to rebuke certain naughty habits of some of the chil- 
dren, but yet so indirectly that it did not at once 
appear who was alluded to ; and if this one blushed, 
and that one showed himself embarrassed, I was care- 
ful to look away. My delight was great indeed, when, 
after my exposition of the third commandment, almost 
all the children began to attend church without any 
positive urging on my part, and when I heard from 
their parents that they were getting more tractable 
and obedient. The more I learnt to love them, the 
easier I found the lessons that I gave ; and I soon 
saw that praise and appreciation, whenever there 



56 My Ministerial Experiences, 

was an opportunity of bestowing these, were far more 
efficient than censure and punishment. The thatcher's 
son was from the first, and continued to be, the best 
scholar of the class, for he was a child of many- 
prayers. 

When I revert, as I am doing now, to the early 
days of my ministry, I am conscious of a profound 
sympathy for every candidate who is called upon to 
undertake an office, the duties of which he is so prac- 
tically ignorant of No doubt he has heard a good 
deal about practical theology, but probably only from 
the lips of a professor who has had no personal experi- 
ence of it himself, and teaches it much as an author 
who had never been beyond the confines of his own 
province might describe a journey round the world. 
Most young theological students are called to be 
pastors in the country. Now, the professor may in- 
deed know how a village looks outside, but as to the 
way in which its inhabitants live, think, and feel, he 
is often entirely in the dark. I can remember how the 
farmers around used to laugh at a learned agricul- 
turist who farmed ' from the book,' how they prophe- 
sied his failure, and called his system ' a Latin system.' 
And no doubt it is a great mistake to treat all farms 
alike, whether large or small, deteriorated or improv- 
ing, having a light or a heavy soil, poor or rich pas- 
tures, and so forth. It is essential that the farmer 
should study the special nature of his land, not taking 
it for granted that any one system is good for all 



First Year, 57 

lands. Many a scientific and theoretical farmer has 
farmed to his own destruction. And so with regard 
to the field of theology, what a difference it makes 
whether the young candidate be called to a parish 
spiritually alive or spiritually dead, attentive to or re- 
gardless of ordinances, agricultural or manufacturing, 
poor or rich, having a religious or irreligious patron, 
bailiff, and inspector, etc. 

It occurs to me, as I write, how in later years a 
young clerical neighbour of mine came running to 
me in haste because he had been applied to for a 
certificate of baptism and did not know how to draw 
it up. In medicine and jurisprudence, indeed, a 
course of practical training under experienced men is 
absolutely necessary, but the young minister is un- 
mercifully thrown into the water to sink or swim un- 
aided. The evangelical Church troubles itself little 
about its candidates, and sends them into active service 
too often ignorant of what that service requires. When 
once they have passed their theological examinations 
well, they have done with all further study. Then 
come thoughts about marriage, furnishing their house, 
managing their land, and so forth. And thus it is that 
so many sink deep in earthly cares, in debt, in embar- 
rassment, and their first love dies down all too soon, 
and their spirits' wings are clipped, and, in spite of 
their early aspirations, they come to think about their 
own income more than the souls of their flock. Young 
pastors have numerous dangers to encounter, and many 



5 8 My Ministerial Experiences, . 

succumb early ; and moral and orthodox though they 
may be, their congregations remain fast asleep and 
wholly unmoved by their preaching. But, it may be 
asked, how is this to be remedied % Theological semi- 
naries and kindred institutions may indeed do some- 
thing, but not much. Many candidates become for a 
time domestic or school tutors, and during this part 
of their career the light within them is often quenched 
before they get an appointment. I can only think of 
one plan that might perhaps be successfully carried out, 
and this is it : that theological candidates should be 
placed for a whole year with some confessedly wise, 
faithful, and zealous country clergyman, whose own 
labours had evidently been blessed, and whom they 
might attend and aid in almost all his official duties, es- 
pecially in the preparation of the young for confirma- 
tion. They might also preach occasionally, with the 
advantage of having their sermons criticised by an ex- 
perienced pastor, and they might acquire a thorough 
knowledge of all parish business by keeping this mini- 
ster's accounts, and preparing his reports and tables 
under his direction or supervision. The selection of 
the clergymen best fitted to receive candidates would 
remain with the consistory, and I would suggest that 
unequal, too unequal as are the revenues of different 
pastors, this evil might be partially remedied by assign- 
ing to some of the richer cures the maintenance, 
throughout a year, of one of the poor candidates. In 
my opinion the youthful pastor might thus be saved 



First Year. 59 

from much misery and many a false step. I knoAv 
young ministers who, with the best intentions, have 
yet made mistakes in the course of the first year 
which have lost them all influence with the congre- 
gation. It is always hard to regain one's ground ; 
and accordingly they grow dispirited and indifferent, 
more especially when the superintendent is only a 
bureaucratic pedagogue and not a sincere paternal 
friend to the young man, and he has no good neigh- 
bour to give him judicious and affectionate advice. 

When I recall the state of the Church in the first 
anxious year of my own ministry, I must confess that 
very great changes have taken place since then, and 
I bless God that he has had mercy upon his Zion. 
No position in life has been so raised of late years as 
that of the minister. Formerly country clergymen 
were almost ashamed of owning their profession, and 
if they were travelling, or in places of public resort, 
would do all they could to conceal it, but now there 
is no temptation to do this ; indeed, of late, young men 
of good family are taking more and more to the study 
of theology, and candidates for orders marry into 
wealthy and noble families. Again, how isolated in 
those former days was the man who really believed 
from his heart in the Godhead of the Lord Jesus and 
the saving power of his blood. In the whole synod to 
which I first belonged, there was not a single pastor 
or preacher to whom I could pour out the distress of 
my heart. We met, indeed, annually, but we discussed 



6o Afy Ministerial Experiences 

no other subject than the amount of the widows' fund. 
In our synodical book-club we had nothing but Schu- 
deroff's Annals^ Rohr's Preacher's Library^ and the 
Darmstadt Ecclesiastical Journal. Certainly, through 
the old sacristan, I did sometimes get hold of a num- 
ber of a then very young evangelical magazine, but it 
was lent me with the utmost precaution, for the old man 
did not want to have any difference with the pastor. 
In the parsonage we very rarely had any clerical 
visitors. I remember, indeed, a few being invited on 
one occasion, but not one word was said of our holy 
office, nor any anxiety expressed about our congrega- 
tions, while it was discussed with utmost eagerness 
whether the dozen and a quarter of eggs that the 
farmers had to pay to the pastors meant fifteen or six- 
teen. Custom had been in favour hitherto of the 
more liberal interpretation, but certain farmers were 
now beginning to give only fifteen. In like manner 
we had much controversy as to the proper measure 
of corn due, and many complaints of the quality of 
that which the farmers now brought in. 

It was customary at that time to play cards in most 
parsonages, and inany a minister was little scrupulous 
in choosing his partner, so only the right number 
could be made up. Brandy, too, was freely drunk, 
and sometimes in excess, so that terrible rumours used 
to circulate among the parishioners. There was at 
that time a certain preacher in the neighbourhood, 
cfvvhom I often heard as having the reputation of 



First Year. 6 1 

being a good theologian ; and though I was warned 
against it, I rode off one day to pay him a visit. He 
was aware that I had studied in Berlin, and had evi- 
dently prepared himself to encounter and crush me. 
Rationalism was at that time so absolute in its pos- 
session of the Church and the people, that if, from 
time to time, some individual voice ventured to dis- 
turb its repose, it comported itself like a veiy Go- 
liath towards that insignificant David — orthodoxy. 
Nevertheless, I found, spite of this man's zeal, that 
he had nothing better to oppose to the lash of one 
evangelical organ and the sharp sword of another 
than ridicule and abuse. For though at first Ration- 
alism received the Church's declaration of war with 
indift'erence and contempt ; later it sought to defend 
itself by bitterness and all other carnal weapons. 

As in our military ranks, those who have lived and 
fought through the time of national disgrace in 1806, 
and of national restoration in 1813, drop off one by 
one, and leave behind them an army outwardly well 
ordered and theoretically perfect, but who have never 
smelt powder ; so within the Church there has arisen 
a new generation, who never experienced the deluge 
of Rationalism, and never bore the reproach of the 
Lord. At the time I speak of, any candidate who had 
been awakened to a living faith took care not to betray 
his views at his examination, and a really believing 
pastor had not a chance of promotion. Every 
movement in the ecclesiastical domain was observed 



6 2 My Ministerial Experiences. 

with utmost suspicion, and put down by the authori- 
ties. The Union, which had already begun its perse- 
cution of the Lutheran Church in Pomerania and 
Silesia, had not yet pervaded our province with its 
angry strife. To me the question seemed then very 
remote, though it is true I had, while at the Univer- 
sity, shared the prevalent enthusiasm for a strong and 
united Germany, and the union of the two churches 
seemed to me an admirable thing. 

But I little thought that the colours, so holy in my 
eyes, would ever become the standard of rebellion 
and revolt, and as little could I foresee that the union 
would become the persecutor of the devoted adherents 
of the Church's Confession of Faith. The war waged 
between Revelation and Reason, between faith and un- 
belief, was at least open and honourable, and filled the 
soul with courage and cheerful energy; and the little 
flocks of believers were bound together by persecution 
and pressure from without, and by holy love and truth 
within. But the present warfare about Union and Con- 
fession is, on the contrary, unsound, weariful, enfeebling; 
and the weapons used therein are too often hatred, 
cunning, and passion, and these gain no victory and 
give no joy. In those earlier days we cried unto the 
Lord, and he gave us one conquest after another. 
The reproach of Christ is the token of truth, and that 
reproach was not wanting then. It helped a man on 
in no way to have the reputation of piety. The so- 
called intellectual world had entirely separated itself 



First Year. 6^^ 

from the Church. A nobleman who attended pubhc 
worship, or an officer who read his Bible, was hardly 
to be found. The Church was looked upon as only 
fit for the ignorant and uncultivated. On one occa- 
sion I remember how, when walking back from the 
chapel~of-ease, I found a handsome carriage at the 
churchyard gate, which had just brought a neighbour- 
ing noble family to church. The whole village was in 
a flutter of astonishment, and the sacristan in utmost 
delight, because he had always had a certain respect 
for this particular family, though well-knowing that 
they never went to church. Some few people from 
the town would indeed make their appearance pretty 
often, and this was very useful to me, as helping to 
convince the rich farmers that there was no social 
disgrace in church-going. 

Here is an illustration of the prevalent feeling of the 
time. A young man of noble birth, who farmed his 
father's estate, and with whom I had a slight acquaint- 
ance, often playing chess with him, had evidently a 
craving for better than earthly things. Our conver- 
sation occasionally turned upon the mysterious side of 
human life, upon the insufficiency of a vague trust in 
chance, destiny, or God's general laws to bring light 
out of darkness, or to fill an aching void ; and upon the 
human heart's imperative need of faith in the living 
God. In connexion with these subjects, I would 
touch upon the influence of the father upon the son, 
exemplified in the course of history, as well as in in- 



64 My Ministerial Experieiices. 

dividual cases. This led to frequent reference to the 
Old Testament, which was almost ienu incognita to 
my friend. On one occasion, when I entered his 
room unexpectedly, he was sitting at his writing-table, 
and I observed that he hastily closed its drawer. A 
short time after he was called away. I peeped into 
the drawer and found an open Bible, and upon his 
return I asked why he so carefully concealed it while 
other books lay strewn about his table. His answer 
was, ' What would my servant think of me if he knew 
that I read the Bible.' Gradually this young man 
came to search more deeply after the way of salva- 
tion, but yet I never knew him go to church. Now-a- 
days, on the contraiy, there are young officers and 
young lawyers who openly read their Bible and attend 
church. But, indeed, what was to be got in the 
church at that former time % Descriptions of the 
beauty of nature and sentimental twaddle was the best 
to be had ; a few domestic pictures ; a good deal of 
moonshine ; and some extracts from the tombstones 
around were the only means of edification. On one 
Good Friday I remember a pastor, who enjoyed the 
reputation of being a good pulpit orator, taking 
Pilate's words, ' What I have written I have -written,' 
to exemplify the superiority of written to oral testi- 
mony, and drawing the inference that it would be well 
for his flock to leave written wills behind them, etc. In 
short, the Lord Jesus and his cross had vanished out of 
sight altogether, and the pastors prided themselves on 



First Year. 6^ 

being called rationalists. The old hymns still sung, 
and Schubert's collection of sermons, one of which the 
sacristan was accustomed to read whenever the mini- 
ster was sick, or otherwise kept away, afforded a singu- 
lar contrast to the usual tone of the preaching. But 
Christian life is of a very enduring nature, and a 
church can bear a good deal without being altogether 
destroyed. 

The great cry against the Pietists, as religious men 
were then called, was, that they judged and condemned 
other people ; and upon one occasion, when I had 
been preaching upon the narrow way and the strait 
gate, my old pastor was a good deal disquieted, and 
found much fault with me. He was of opinion that 
all men were to be ultimately saved, for that God 
was too merciful to doom any man to eternal punish- 
ment. As to what he found in the Bible about hell and 
everlasting torment, such passages were, he opined, 
mere Eastern allegories, which a more enlightened rea- 
son was unable to accept. As to the infinite mercy of 
God manifested in the forgiveness of those who be- 
lieve in Christ, he did not in the least apprehend it, 
because he looked upon the sacrifice of the Lord for 
us as a mere Judaizing doctrine, which had become 
quite obsolete. The yearning for companionship with 
those who understood me, and believed as I did in the 
real Godhead of the Saviour, often led me to the cot- 
tage of the old thatcher and the side of the old sacris- 
tan. The thatcher loved to speak of his father and 

E 



66 My Ministerial Experiences. 

mother, and of a pious tailor now fallen asleep ; but 
his special spiritual food was old Spangenberg and 
Porst's hymn-book. The sacristan I found more re- 
served upon these subjects, but I had often remarked 
that every Wednesday he went to town, and returned 
very late ; and when I asked him what ^he urgent busi- 
ness was that led him there, since even when he was 
sick he went all the same, he replied by asking whether 
I would accompany him, saying he went to visit good 
people, whom I had already seen in church. I ac- 
cepted his offer, and we drove off together. About 
eight o'clock in the evening he took me to the house 
of an old schoolmaster, with whose name I was 
familiar. We entered a large room where a few men 
and women, sitting on low benches, were already as- 
sembled, but not a word was said. Others kept 
silently dropping in for a while, and then the master 
of the house rose, gave out a few lines of a hymn, 
which were sung in very suppressed tones, and so on 
till it was finished. Then all fell upon their knees, 
and the old schoolmaster poured out a prayer which 
went to my heart. After that a sermon was read. 
Another prayer and hymn concluded the service, and 
silently and privately as it had assembled the meeting 
broke up, the members shaking hands as they parted. 
This was my first acquaintance with the conventicle, 
which was at that time more vehemently denounced 
and decried than vice and open sin. On our way 
back I sat silently by the side of the old sacristan. 



First Year. 67 

whose parting words to me were, ' At all events you 
will not betray me.' 

If such an idea as the fall of the Church ever oc- 
curred to my mind, it was that evening. A Church 
so deeply sunk as to hate and persecute the faithful, 
could it, I asked myself, be indeed the Church of 
God % It is far more painful for the living members 
of Christ to bear oppression at the hand of a Christian 
than a heathen government. It was by her persecu- 
tion of the Waldenses and the adherents of the martyr 
Huss, that the Catholic Church did herself the greatest 
harm, and brought about an inevitable secession from 
her ranks. She who neglects the education of her 
own children undermines her house. It is not in- 
deed to be denied, that much that is morbid and un- 
sound may have, from time to time, appeared in the 
conventicle, but in many cases accusations have been 
raised against it by its enemies who had themselves no 
understanding of the spiritual wants its members sought 
to satisfy ; and the unsound symptoms that actually 
exist must in fairness be attributed rather to the per- 
secutions raised by Christ's enemies than to any in- 
herent mischief in the system itself For instance, who 
can throw a stone against these people for their con- 
tempt of an ordained ministry % I must confess that, 
on the other hand, I have often marvelled at their con- 
tinuing to exhort each other so earnestly to go on at- 
tending the National Church ; for how wearisome it 
must have been, Sunday after Sunday, to listen to mere 



63 My Mmisterial Experiences. 

empty verbiage or palpably false doctrine. A minister, 
who numbered in his congregation a few who were in 
earnest about their souls, and in the habit of meeting 
for prayer, could hardly preach a sermon without at- 
tacking them under the character of Pharisees, and 
holding them up to ridicule. Now it makes a great 
difference whether character develops in peace or 
strife. A child who becomes a believer, in a pious 
Christian family, grows up very unlike one whose 
faith leads him into opposition to his parents, and 
exposes him to contest and censure. A child has a 
divine right to be led by its parents to Christ, and the 
members of the congregation have the same right to 
require from the National Church sound spiritual nur- 
ture. If instead of living bread mere worldly husks 
are offered them, and ridicule and abuse into the 
bargain, who can wonder that they are driven out of 
the proper track ? 

A member of such a conventicle as the one I have 
described was once rebuked and warned by the local 
civil authority, and gave, as an apology for his con- 
duct, the fact that the pastor preached false doctrine, 
and that consequently he was obliged to seek susten- 
ance for his poor soul elsewhere. ' I have nothing 
to do with such subjects,' said the magistrate, 'they 
are out of my province.' To which the other re- 
plied, ' Sir, there is but one way of salvation, and it 
is as essential for a magistrate and nobleman to know 
it as for a poor day labourer.' 



First Year. 69 

Whenever the National Church restricts and perse- 
cutes earnest and truly converted people, these must 
inevitably leave the country, or become dissenters, or 
decline in spiritual life. Bureaucracy has done mis- 
chief enough on earth already, and it is the twin 
sister of Democracy ; but they are never so fatal 
as when they hold their sway in the Church; for 
spiritual things must be spiritually discerned. Who 
could wonder if some of these poor people — thus for- 
saken and persecuted — did grow embittered when 
they saw that meetings for dancing, gaming, and 
drinking were everywhere allowed, and meetings for 
prayer and psalm-singing rigorously suppressed % 
That newspapers and periodicals, even of an immoral 
character, might be freely circulated, while dissemi- 
nating tracts was looked upon as a dangerous thing % 

Nevertheless, the Divine mercy has blessed the 
sorrows and prayers of these despised members of 
the conventicle, and they have been the pioneers and 
champions of a new and better era. The prosperous 
Bible societies and missions of the present day are 
the fruit of these obscure meetings, and have greatly 
tended to the awakening and animating the Church 
at large. 

An acquaintance I made about this time with a 
pastor out of East Prussia, was to me a special source 
of consolation, and of strengthening in the faith. 
Once, when we were assembled in the house of that 
town schoolmaster, of whom I have spoken, after his 



70 My Ministerial Expeidences. 

own prayer was over, a stranger rose and addressed 
us as the little flock whom the Lord had gathered 
round him. He admonished us most instantly to 
adorn our faith by a holy hfe, and to unite faithful- 
ness in openly confessing the truth with deep and 
sincere humility. He dwelt with great clearness 
upon the way of salvation, and exhorted us to seek 
earnestly for acceptance, and to esteem the cross of 
Christ as a great honour if we were permitted to bear 
it. All hearts were deeply stirred by this address, 
and after the service I went up to him; and great 
as was my timidity, the cordiality and love with which 
he received me were greater still. 

It was, in my opinion, a singular fact, that meet- 
ings such as these, in which there was apparently 
little to excite or to instruct, should yet make so deep 
an impression upon my mind. But I could distinctly 
observe that earnestness in prayer, carefulness as to 
daily conduct, yearning for grace, fervency of love 
and trust in the promises of the Lord, together with 
self-knowledge and a sincere determination to fight 
the good fight, were all increased and intensified 
within me each time I attended one of these meet- 
ings. There is, indeed, in Christian fellowship, and 
especially in united prayer, a might and efficacy 
which can only be experimentally appreciated. No 
doubt the two great means of grace — the word of 
God and the holy sacraments — are sufficient for salva- 
tion when rightly used ; but intercourse with be- 



First Year. 71 

lievers, communion with the members of the Lord's 
body, is also a channel of grace, and of the Holy 
Spirit. Before the day of Pentecost, Christ com- 
manded his disciples to remain together, and wait 
for the promise of the Father. After his resurrec- 
tion, he showed himself to such of them as were 
gathered together with closed doors, for fear of the 
Jews ; and Thomas, who had separated himself from 
the rest, only saw him eight days later, and when he 
had returned to their company. It was in the secret 
meetings of Christians by night in woods and desert 
places, that the martyrs found faith and courage to 
suffer death. 

Spener's great and successful exertions in the cause 
of the Church were traceable to prayer-meetings ; and 
in our own time, the much -despised conventicles 
have been the means of conversion and growth in 
grace to numbers. It is a mistake to suppose that 
the public services of the Church have an equal 
efficacy; this could only be so if the majority were 
really spiritually alive, as we are told, by those who 
have spent a Sunday there, is the case in Hermanns- 
burg. The power of preaching lies not only in the 
speaker, but in the praying congregation who hear 
his word. The branch severed from the vine withers; 
the limb removed from the body decays; he who 
will be a member of Christ's body, must be closely 
united with other members if he would share in the 
healthy flow of the saving blood and spirit. For 



7 2 My Ministerial Experie^ices. 

many natures, an isolated position has almost in- 
superable difficulties. We can only love the Lord if 
we love his body ; and he who willingly severs him- 
self from his fellow Christians treads a perilous path. 
The Son of God was not ashamed to identify himself 
with his people. He did not say to Saul, ' Why per- 
secutest thou my disciples'?' but, 'Why persecutest 
thou me ?' And the humblest service done to one 
of his, he looks upon as done to himself, and v/ill not 
allow to go unrewarded. 

It was striking to me to notice, that between those 
who attended this conventicle differences of rank 
seemed nearly effaced. They were willingly recog- 
nised, indeed, on the side of the inferior, but ignored 
on the other. There was a singular cordiality and 
brotherly feeling amongst all, and a ready acceptance 
of mutual help, but the general point of view seemed 
to be, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. It 
was enjoined upon each, individually, to exert himself 
silently for God's cause; and there was great rejoicing 
when some poor sinner was brought in for the first 
time, and sought for spiritual peace. Separation 
from the world and its pleasures was specially en- 
forced. Card-playing, dancing, frequenting the public 
houses, or the theatres, held decided tokens of an 
unconverted, unrepentant condition, and pecuharly 
lamentable on the part of the clergy. 

Another thing struck me a good deal ; the members 
from far and near seemed so intimately acquainted. 



Fwst Year. 73 

Travellers from other districts were most lovingly re- 
ceived ; and there was great delight shown whenever a 
stranger came in as a friend, and told of the trials 
and successes of the brethren in different provinces, 
especially if it were announced that here and there 
a pastor began to preach the truth, and seriously to 
insist upon repentance and regeneration. 

A third feature that I noticed was, that all of this 
way of thinking, however much they suspected regu- 
larly ordained ministers and church authorities, yet 
appeared to place heartfelt confidence in the king. 
They were universally persuaded that his majesty 
personally was well inclined towards them ; averse 
himself to persecution and vexatious police restric- 
tions, but deceived by false reports. The king was 
invariably prayed for with the utmost affection. There 
was an old farmer who lived in a distant parish, and 
with whom I became acquainted later, whose father 
had been awakened through the hymns of Woltersdorff, 
and who had himself walked in God's ways from his 
youth, and could say all Woltersdorff 's hymns by 
heart ; this worthy had for long years been much 
distressed at his pastor preaching false doctrine. At 
length he could bear it no longer. The pastor had, it 
seems, one favourite aphorism that he was in the con- 
stant habit of repeating, ' Virtue and uprightness are 
the way to heaven,' and each time the old farmer 
heard it, it was an offence to him. Indeed, he had 
entreated the pa,stor to leave it off as being unsound. 



74 My Ministerial Experiences. 

But one Sunday when the obnoxious sentence again 
came in, up rose the farmer, and in a loud voice 
cried, ' Brethren, do not believe this ; you may be lost 
with your virtue and uprightness ; Christ's blood and 
righteousness are the way to heaven.' The conse- 
quence of which was that he was taken up for brawl- 
ing in church. After his term of imprisonment was 
over, he went again to see the pastor, and implored 
him to discontinue the phrase, but all in vain. Nay, 
still worse, once when upon a visit to his cousin, the 
sacristan, he saw the book of homilies, which the 
latter had to read in church, lying on the table, and 
taking it up found that the pastor had scratched 
out many passages, and replaced them by marginal 
amendments of his own, to his favourite tune of 
' virtue and uprightness !' The good farmer who, like 
the rest of his class, had a profound respect for printed 
books, held this tampering with one to be a grievous 
crime, and as he well knew that he should have no 
redress from the local authorities, he determined to 
write to the king and accuse the pastor. But he met 
with difficulties at the post-office (especially connected 
with the book, which he had wrapped in a handker- 
chief, and wanted to send with the letter), which led 
to his resolving to go himself to Berlin. Accordingly, 
dressed in his best, with blue velvet furred cap, and 
one great spur on his left foot (only knights were privi- 
leged to wear two spurs), he at length reached the royal 
residence, and making his way in, was asked by some 



First Year. j ^ 

military official what he wanted there. Bat his em- 
barrassments were not over, the military personage took 
charge of the letter indeed, but would have nothing 
to do with the book, whereas the poor farmer laboured 
hard to prove to him that the letter would only be un- 
derstood by reference to the book, which was there to 
show the way in which the pastor had tampered with it. 
During the discussion, the king himself appeared on 
the staircase, and as soon as the farmer sav/ him, down 
he fell on his knees, holding up his book. The king 
gave him an audience, and assured him the matter 
should be inquired into by the government ; at which 
the farmer again dropped on his knees, and implored 
the king himself to appoint a believing pastor, for, as 
to the government, there was no help to be had from 
it, seeing it was entirely composed of men who 
thought to be saved by virtue and uprightness. His 
majesty spoke very graciously to the old man, and 
dismissed him. Not long after, the pastor left off offi- 
ciating, retaining indeed his income, but giving up 
his pulpit to an assistant, who was paid from the 
royal purse. So the story ran ; and it strengthened 
the confidence already reposed in the king. The 
farmer himself was reluctant to speak of it, consider- 
ing it bad for him, as ministering to the pride of the 
old Adam within him. The early Fathers used to 
speak of Christ's threefold cross : first, the cross of 
punishment, by which the Good Shepherd drives his 
sheep to the fold ; next, the cross of temptation, 



76 My Minister ial Exp ericfices, 

which the converted carry to further their growth in 
grace ; and, lastly, the cross of honour which the mar- 
tyrs wear ; and it is certain that this last cross is the 
hardest of the three to carry aright, since it has a 
tendency to awaken spiritual pride, that worst of all 
diseases. But the old farmer had shoulders that 
could bear even this latter cross. 

These conventicles of which we have been speak- 
ing — lodges in the wilderness, as it were — were not 
to be destroyed by the policy or the ridicule of the 
world ; but they may be said to have virtually come 
to an end so soon as God's living word was to 
be heard in the churches, and ministers began to 
hold Bible and prayer meetings themselves. Yet it 
must be owned that these are very different to what 
they replace. At first there were but few, and those 
very exceptional, pastors who took the work in hand, 
and they met with loving gratitude. But gradually 
it became a point of etiquette, so to speak, that 
every minister who did not want to pass for a Ra- 
tionalist should have Bible-meetings; while the fact 
that som.ething more was needed than merely the 
absence of positive opposition to the gospel, was too 
often overlooked. No serious and careful preparation 
was made for them, and frequently nothing was given 
but a dry and wearisome exposition, or an unconnected, 
wandering discourse. And so the once numerously- 
attended Bible - meetings, which people preferred to 
call prayer-meetings, lost their hold upon public sym.- 



First Year. 77 

pathy. The fact is, the reproach of Christ encamped 
round the conventicle, and kept the door shut 
against the intrusion of the world ; while, on the 
other hand, a spirit of fervent, brotherly love abode 
therein, and the prayer put up came from the heart, 
and united all the members in loving devotion to the 
Lamb upon the throne. This early dew, this morning 
freshness, is too often lacking now, especially when 
the meetings are held merely for credit's sake. At 
first, too, faithful pastors would hold them in their 
own houses, more particularly in their libraries ; but 
soon they were transferred to the cold, empty church ; 
every now and then on the ground of the mini- 
ster's wife objecting to the disturbance of so much 
coming and going in the house ; and so they more 
and more assumed the character of a mere week- 
day evening service. 

I may here observe, that the most difficult portion 
of a pastor's duty will always consist of his relation 
to the awakened. One who lives like the guardian of 
a churchyard may be undisturbed enough if he is fond 
of sleeping. If he leaves the congregation alone they 
will be sure to like him up to a certain point, and the 
superintendent will probably pronounce all things in 
excellent order. But new-born children often cry a 
good deal, fall sick easily, have all manner of trouble- 
some ways, and only motherly love and motherly 
patience can bear with them. And just as a child 
very soon finds out who really loves him, these other 



78 My Ministerial Experie7tces. 

new-born babes exercise a delicate discrimination in 
the bestowal of their confidence, and soon determine 
whether the language used in addressing them is a 
foreign tongue, learnt from the book, or whether it 
is spoken by a true citizen of the Heavenly Jeru- 
salem. 

When my painful anxiety about the composition of 
my sermons had somewhat abated, I began to dis- 
cover that my professional duties did not fill up my 
time. The transition from my university career to 
a wholly practical kind of life had been so sudden 
and abrupt, that at first I almost seemed to have lost 
my identity. The novelty of my duties had so taxed 
all my powers as to engross my mind entirely. But 
gradually a love for my former interests rekindled. 
The country minister has, indeed, often too little to 
do, and that is still worse than if he had too little to 
eat. Many have deteriorated through too much 
anxiety about their daily bread, but more still through 
slipper-and-dressing-gown ease. Poverty may brace 
the character, and through faith in God its distress 
may be so endured as to promote the divine glory and 
the good of souls ; but want of occupation makes a 
man good for nothing. If you examine a young pas- 
tor ver}^ closely as to what he has done throughout 
the past week, from Monday morning till Saturday 
evening, how much positive work will appear? 1 
am no friend to diaries in general, but still it is use- 



First Year, 79 

ful to give one's-self from time to time an exact ac- 
count of how one's life has been employed. In 
small cures the ministerial duties occupy but little 
time, and although a pastor must of course have his 
hours of retirement, and his work can hardly be mea- 
sured like that of another man, still he ought to be in 
the habit of examining himself as to the positive em- 
ployment of his days. If soon after entering upon his 
office he throws his books aside, and occupies himself 
with exegesis only so far as his sermon actually re- 
quires it j or begins to think it unnecessary to compose 
his sermon carefully beforehand, — either because he 
believes himself possessed of a gift of readiness given 
only to a few ; or else that anything will do for farmers 
— then there is the greatest danger of a rapid mental 
and moral falling off. For what can such a man do 
the whole week long % The care of souls is a com- 
prehensive expression, but very often it stands for 
what, in point of fact, amounts to very little. There 
are long seasons in the country when the people have 
so much to do that the most zealous of pastors can 
hardly get at them ; and as to the sick, often there 
are none for him to visit. As for reading the period- 
icals or newspapers which, in their course through the 
Synod, sometimes come very late to the individual, this 
cannot be called work, — this should be the relaxation 
of some else unoccupied hour. Unless the pastor is 
to sink into the merest commonplace, it is absolutely 
essential that he should have some special study 



8o My Ministerial Experiences, 

to nourish his intellect, and sustain his thoughts above 
everyday matters. If nothing higher than the care 
of his house, his garden, or his land, take up his 
time, if his mind is constantly revolving in the narrow 
circuit of personal interests, his horizon must neces- 
sarily contract, the wretched gossip and tittle-tattle of 
the village will at length draw him down to its own 
level, and he will be the bond-slave of a merely ma- 
terial existence. In such a case as this some take 
to hoarding, some to coarser vices. The devil's very 
stronghold is idleness, and he is particularly given to 
lay snares for ministers. It is just because a retired 
country life offers so little excitement, and oppor- 
tunities of conversing with cultivated men are so rare, 
that it is the more necessary earnestly to take up some 
branch of study, in order that the mind may have a 
sphere beyond the narrow confines of the village, and 
other pleasure-grounds than the parsonage garden 
and the parsonage farm. It is a wholesome process 
to examine, from time to time, what thoughts fill the 
mind when one is riding to one's chapel-of-ease or 
on one's way to visit a neighbour. Birds, be it re- 
membered, will forget to fly if they spend their lives 
in a cage. 

In former days it was usual for each pupil at the 
gymnasium to take up some course or other with 
special attention, one fixing on history, another on 
philosophy, a third devoting himself to the classics. 
At the university this particular branch, whatever it 



First Year. 8i 

was, was carried on further. Now, my hobby had 
always been mathematics, and the very few books 
that I had were ahnost all mathematical. The works 
of Lacroix, his Differential and Integral Calculus, 
were at that time in great vogue, and now that I 
could manage to do so, I gladly returned to these 
my old friends. Mathematics is indeed a most 
useful branch of study, because of its effect upon 
the human mind. Its necessary truth, the inevit- 
able connexion between one step and the next, 
the concentration which it demands, the distress 
it creates while a problem remains obscure, the 
delight its solution affords, exactly fit the science 
for the solitary student, and the ancients named it 
with good right, mediciiza mentis. I also brought out 
my Shakspere again, and Livy, who had always been 
a prime favourite of mine. And so my old love for 
study revived ; and strange as it may seem to some, 
I soon found it imperative to make a regular division 
of my time. The morning hours, both before and 
after I paid my visit to the school, were devoted to 
theology, Spener's Catechism, which my father had 
given me, being repeatedly gone through, and lead- 
ing often to exegetical questions, I found it difficult 
to solve. I was obliged to beware of mathematics 
the last days of the week, lest its fascination for me 
should interfere with that concentrated thinking over 
the gospel for the day essential to the preparation of 
my Sunday's sermon. As for Livy and Shakspere, 

F 



8 2 My Ministerial Experiences. 

I reserved them for my recreation, and only took 
them up in the afternoon. 

If a school-boy at his lessons thinks exclusively of 
his place in his class, or as a collegian cares only for 
the result of his examination, he loses the liberty of 
love, and becomes a mere day-labourer for wages ; 
and it is only natural that the examination once over, 
books should be thrown aside, and the mind should 
grovel in the dust. What strange pleasures, to be 
sure, have I known country pastors driven to through 
mere ennui, so that in the course of a few years 
they showed no trace of ever having had a liberal 
education, and people pronounced them grown utterly 
boorish. It certainly is a great misfortune, even 
now, that the young minister should have so little 
guidance, encouragement, and supervision. It is no 
one's place positively to interfere with him ; and the 
superintendent is often quite satisfied if he behaves 
himself decorously, is on good terms with the con- 
gregation, and keeps his registers and reports re- 
gularly and in order. But of late some superinten- 
dents have begun to hold periodical conferences; 
and small as the results of these may as yet be, they 
show a beginning of spiritual activity ; and unless the 
synod is a very small one, some men are sure to be 
found therein who exercise a healthy and stimulating 
influence upon the younger members, and awake a 
love of study and scientific inquiry. 

Meanwhile the end of my first ministerial year had 



First Year, 83 

come round ; the harvest had begun again ; the 
yellow fields were waiting the reaper. The year 
that lay behind me now, had indeed been fraught 
with difficulties, but was also rich in experience. 
At the University I kept a little pocket-book, in 
which, from time to time, as a theological student, 
I used to enter my plans and ideas concerning my 
future career; but how utterly different my actual 
life had been from the future my imagination had 
drawn. How slow plants are in growing ; how long 
must the gardener wait before a seed becomes a 
sapling, and a sapling bears fruit ! The word of 
God is the seed, the congregation the garden; but 
how slowly the seed comes up, how much of it falls 
by the way and is trodden down, how much falls 
amongst thorns and the thorns choke it ! How great 
God's patience is the while ! The old sacristan 
used, indeed, to say that God's word is like winter 
wheat which Hes long hid beneath frost and snow, 
but yet surely comes up in spring-time ; and truly 
this spring is" of God's bringing, not man's, but still 
we anxiously ask. When will spring be here ? 

At all events some positive progress was made, in 
that many of my proud and presumptuous imaginings 
were at an end, and I was fully convinced that I was not 
the man to awaken a sleeping congregation. But the 
visible results of my labours were small. The school 
was better attended, the church somewhat better filled, 
but of what avail was this % As to my next neigh- 



84 My Ministeidal Experiences. 

hour, he held his course in much weakness. I was 
often exceedingly anxious about him ; the old sacri- 
stan would not acknowledge him a convert, and held 
that there is no such thing as hobbling through the 
strait gate. What gave me most satisfaction was that 
the old pastor not only came regularly to church, and 
took pleasure in discussing the sermons, but I not 
unfrequently found him in the garden and even in 
his own room with the New Testament in his hand. 
It is an exceedingly difficult thing for young mini- 
sters to enter into controversy with their older bre- 
thren. One thing is certain, the latter do not like to 
be set right by their juniors. Indeed, genuine 
humility and diffidence are essential fruits of faith ; 
and where these are wanting, even the maintenance 
of true doctrine may do more harm than good. And 
I am bound also to confess that, at the tim.e I speak 
of, there were several rationahstic pastors who really 
led pious and holy lives, and were much better in prac- 
tice than theory, just as there are now some who give 
themselves out as orthodox, but do not live up to their 
creed even in mere external matters. In synodical 
meetings a young minister is, in my opinion, bound 
to listen more than to speak, to remember that he 
has two ears and but one mouth, and above all, to 
beware of putting himself too much forward in any 
way. Of course, if the superintendent requests him 
to take up any particular subject he must do so ; 
but while he devotes all his energy and industry to 



First Year. 85 

it, he should carefully avoid attacking those who 
hold different views. I repeat it, there were formerly 
rationalist ministers who led a prayerful life, and had 
regular family worship in their houses, and there are 
orthodox ministers now-a-days who do not even set 
a good example in this respect. 

To return to my own case : at first it had indeed 
been disagreeable to the old pastor to see several 
in the parish inclined to show me more affection 
and respect than to him, but now he positively 
seemed to rejoice in this, especially as he found 
that here and there the word of God was making 
its way, and he would readily tell me any en- 
couraging fact that might come before him. I 
often heard him exclaim, mihi prceteritos referat si 
Jupiter annos ! and, conscious of the good gifts which 
had been lent him, he would raise his right hand 
when speaking of the presumption of youth, or the sins 
of age, and cry, ' Quos ego P My affection for him 
went on increasing, and I tried to recompense his 
kindly consideration for me by my devotedness and 
gratitude. The congregation had gradually come 
to perceive that I preached different doctrines 
to those they had been previously accustomied to ; 
and if some were displeased at this, others were 
gratified, and the affection of the children, which 
I had been happy in securing, was my support 
and shield with all parties alike. In some houses 
they began to bring out again their old hereditary 



8 6 My Minis lerial Experiejices . 

sermon-books, and the pious thatcher was no longer 
the only one who read them. 

On the anniversary of my arrival I went as usual 
to the school. I was struck with my fatherly friend, 
the sacristan and schoolmaster, having donned his 
Sunday coat, and even his boots. As I entered, he 
made a sign, and the children stood up and sang — 

' Although in us sin still be found, 

Though oft, alas ! we fall, 
God's grace shall over sin abound, 
And bring us safe through all;' 

after which he read out the 103 d Psalm very solemnly, 
and, looking full at me with his kind, intelligent eyes, 
held out his hand in silence. I understood and 
thanked him, and then the school went on as usual. 
That evening I walked up to the great stone on the 
road by which I had knelt on my arrival, and again 
humbled myself before God. It is true that I was 
still so full of difficulties and conflict that I bemoaned 
myself even more than I gave thanks, but when I 
returned to the house and took up my Bible, I could 
fully appropriate the comfort of the apostle's words, 
' He who hath begun a good work in you will per- 
form it unto the day of Christ.' 



Preferment. 87 



II. 



PREFERMENT. 

Before the expiration of my first ministerial year, I 
received from a private patron an appointment to a 
living with three churches and a large income. But 
this circumstance, which would have delighted many a 
candidate, filled me with disquietude. For although 
I could not hesitate about accepting such a call, my 
heart was closely bound to the scenes in which I had 
lived and worked, and full of fear lest my feeble 
powers should prove inadequate to these new and 
increased claims. My present charge might, indeed, 
be losing little, but not so I. We cleave most tena- 
ciously to what has occasioned us the greatest trouble. 
The mother loves that child most fondly for whom 
she has most trembled, wept, and prayed. Our first 
love is always our strongest. There is no year in my 
professional life of which the recollections are so 
lively as of this first year, and my dreams often carry 
me back to it. I was not, however, to enter upon my 
new duties for twelve months ; and even before I sat 



8 8 My MiiiisteiHal Experiences. 

down to express my thanks to my patron, I had taken 
the resolve to spend this interval in faithfully labouring 
amongst my present flock, and seeking as much as pos- 
sible to make up for lost time. It was soon known in the 
village that my departure was a settled thing, and the 
only feeling of the majority was that I was a very lucky 
man to have got a good appointment so early ; very 
few expressed a wish that I could have stayed on, 
while I, on my side, felt it a pang to part. But it is 
in the nature of things that a pastor should love his 
flock collectively more than he can possibly be loved 
by them. Nevertheless the old sacristan was evi- 
dently sincere when he said, *I should have been 
glad, if it had been God's will, to have had you to 
bury me.' 

In all external matters this second year ran its 
course much like its forerunner, although the 
knowledge that my connexion with the flock was so 
soon to cease, could not fail to have an influence 
upon them as well as upon me. Formerly my prayers, 
my plans, my silent hopes had been concentrated 
upon this school and this congregation; now, schemes 
for the future would often intrude. It is very true 
that my position had never been a permanent one, 
but m.y occupations, and the interest I took in them, 
had so absorbed me that I had never looked beyond. 
In after life I have often moved from one cure to an- 
other, but these times of transplantation have always 
been painful to me, and yet I must needs thank God 



Prefer7nent. 89 

that I did not remain where I was first placed. The 
sentimental picture of a pastor growing gradually old, 
and at length dying amongst his first flock, may be a 
pleasing one, but it involves ideal and almost impos- 
sible circumstances. It sounds indeed well that an 
aged minister should have spent, peacefiilly and pro- 
fitably, thirty, forty, nay, fifty years, amongst a people 
almost every one of whom had been baptized by 
him, and whom he had taught and counselled 
throughout life's vicissitudes ; but this implies a 
pastor and a flock such as we find in romances, 
not real life. A young and zealous man is sure on 
entering his sacred oflice to make at first divers 
blunders ; he will inevitably fall into unfortunate 
relations with some individuals, if not with the com- 
munity at large ; if, then, he remains on with them very 
long, it is likely enough that he will grow shy and em- 
barrassed, and shrink more and more into his home 
life, confining his ministerial activity to his Sunday 
sermon and to mere externals. Many a man has set 
out with high aspirations, but the mistakes that he 
originally made through inexperience have resulted 
in subsequent inactivity, and too often in mutual 
bitterness of feeling. A pastor who has lost his 
courage and confidence, loses at length the energy to 
perform even his most imperative duties. 

Neither is it desirable for the congregation to have 
always the same pastor. There is great diversity of 
gifts amongst men, and what suits some does not suit 



90 My Ministerial Experiences. 

others. It often happens that certain members who 
are inaccessible to one pastor are won over by his 
successor. There are ministers who have the gift of 
awakening, and who at first make a strong impres- 
sion ; these should not be stationary too long, for 
they soon get wearied, and feel depressed if the ex- 
citement subside. I remember a man of this stamp 
writing to me, * I have fished out the pool, and shall 
not have one other bite.' His zeal for conversion 
had been successful in the case of numbers, and 
they were devoted to him, but others were repelled, 
and opposed him vehemently, and he was made 
unhappy by this. His successor, who had rather the 
gift of building up and spiritually nurturing, was much 
blessed in his subsequent labours. 

As to the question whether a minister ought to 
apply for a vacant post or wait till he be called to it, 
it is a difficult one to answer. I have in the course of 
my life twice applied, but unsuccessfully. Nor, in- 
deed, can the principle of accepting a call, when made, 
be invariably acted on. 

There are at the present time patrons who pay 
scarcely any attention to the applications they may 
receive, but travel about instituting searching in- 
quiries respecting different pastors, and choosing ac- 
cordingly. And even amongst the council of magis- 
trates there are individual men whose choice is not 
solely guided by personal relations and external cir- 
cumstances, but who really take the special difficulties 



Preferment. 91 

of the post, and the requirements of the congrega- 
tion, into earnest consideration. It has happened to 
myself to have four members of such a council attend 
my preaching twice, unknown to me, and then come 
and ask me whether I would accept a call from them. 
It were well indeed if all patrons were equally con- 
scientious and faithful ; but hitherto patronage has 
been rare y thus bestowed, nor can one wonder that here 
and there the wish is uttered that it could be with- 
drawn from its present possessors and vested elsewhere. 
The fundamental idea which connected patronage 
with government authority, or with the possession of 
land, was doubtless a sound one ; but when magis- 
trates, as is too often the case, belong to a class that 
seldom appears in church except on high festivals, fre- 
quents the theatre far more, is tainted by neology or 
even scepticism, pastors will too probably be chosen 
who suit but the careless and profane, while the poor 
souls who would gladly hear the word of God are 
spiritually starved. It is certainly very hard that the 
choice should lie with those in whose opinion mini- 
sters are only of use as performing certain official func- 
tions in a legal manner, and who have scarcely any 
idea of the deeper significance and higher duties of 
the sacred calling. Some degree of fitness is required 
of a man for every other post, but the disposal of 
Church patronage is conceded even to an enemy of 
the Church. Here is a case in point : A pious and 
highly-gifted pastor applied" for a certain living; after 



gi My Ministe^'ial Experiences, 

he had preached his probationary sermon he was in- 
vited to dine at the Castle, Now, he was accustomed 
to say grace before meat, and, accordingly, on this 
occasion he clasped his hands under the table and 
bowed his head. After dinner the patron called him 
aside, and said, ' I like open dealing, and therefore I 
tell you plainly that I remember nothing to find fault 
with in your sermon, but your departure from the 
customs of my family gives me much concern. What 
is to be done, — since I am accustomed to be on 
friendly terms with the pastor, and often to ask him 
to dinner, — what is to be done, if your habits stir 
questions in my home-circle, the solution of which 
disturbs the peace of the house?' This good man 
was not chosen ! No doubt man);^ patrons have had 
fruitlessly to repent the consequences of a carelessly- 
made choice of pastor and schoolmaster. The 
Church authorities have no motive to transfer an 
inactive pastor from a post under private patronage 
to a living in the king's gift, and it is not always pos- 
sible to get rid of him in any way. 

The most frequent motive that leads a man to 
desire preferment is the wish to increase his income. 
It is all very w^ell for those who are ignorant of the 
distress of many a poor pastor to whom God has given 
a large family, to enforce waiting on, in all cases, till 
a call comes ; but one who has been admitted behind 
the scenes in some parsonages where the annual 
means hardly amount to 400 thalers (about ^60), 



Preferment. 93 

may well waver in so stern a theory. If this meagre 
income be combined with a wife who lacks the skill 
to make a little go a long way, we may guess how 
easily care and discontent invade the home and 
break down the minister's spirit, till every vacancy 
that can promise a better income awakens the rest- 
less yearning to move. In no profession are incomes 
more unequal than in the Church. They vary be- 
tween 300 and 3000 thalers, and yet all require the 
same education and the same duties. Now, if one's 
nearest neighbour happens to have a light and plea- 
sant cure with twice or thrice one's own income, and 
to be a younger man besides, it may really be a diffi- 
cult matter to possess one's soul in proper patience 
and content. 

The Magdeburg consistory has of late years ex- 
pressed its strong disapprobation of any applications 
being made to it, and it has by so doing taken upon 
itself a heavy responsibility. Owing to the great ex- 
tent of the consistorial circle, an intimate personal 
acquaintance with the members is almost out of the 
question, and it is rare to find a general superinten- 
dent who knows all the pastors of his district. And, 
again, just as it is a recommendation to a young girl 
to be Httle spoken of, so they are not the worst pastors 
who are the least heard of. An old minister who had 
filled the same poor cure for fifty years, once said : ' In 
the first ten years I made sundry applications, but since 
then all my petitions have been addressed above, and 



94 -^^y Ministerial Experie^tces, 

have received the gracious answer, " My grace is 
sufficient for thee;" and since this answer came, I 
really have had enough, and have left off all ap- 
plications.' Yea, truly, he who has this lofty faith is 
ever rich ! But a minister has need to pray instantly 
for such faith, and also for cheerfulness in poverty. 
I remember going with an aged brother to a synod in 
a town. He wore the very same coat in which he 
had been ordained and married, and certainly it was 
decidedly out of fashion. As we passed, the boys were 
coming out of school, and one called out to another, 
^ Did you ever see such a coat as that ?' The pastor, 
however, turning round, said, in the kindest way pos- 
sible, ' My son, I have several children for whom I 
must buy coats ; I have long left off caring about 
my own.' The boy went away thoroughly ashamed. 
This great difference in the endowment of ministers 
is a disagreeable motive, it must be owned, for the de- 
sire of the clergy to change their sphere, but a very dif- 
ficult one to get rid of. All propositions hitherto made 
for overcoming this evil are either wholly impractic- 
able, or would place other and even worse diffi- 
culties in its stead. If the number of the ill-paid cures 
were small, so that they could be regarded as merely 
temporary posts to be held by young beginners, some- 
thing might be done, but unfortunately they are very 
numerous. Highly gifted young men, indeed, do not 
long remain ill provided for, but others who labour 
faithfully and well, have to fight with care, and indeed 



Preferment. 95 

positive distress, all their lives. A long course of 
wretched farming of glebe lands, the diminution in 
the value of money, and the increase of artificial wants 
in the present day, all add to their difficulties. It is 
easy to say that the minister should show the power 
and efficacy of his faith by bearing poverty with un- 
broken spirit, but sometimes it is not he alone, but 
his wife and children who have to suffer, and some- 
times the peculiar graces requisite for this achieve- 
ment may be constitutionally wanting. Another 
thing that adds to the difficulty of the case is, 
that the free-will offerings the congregation used 
to make to the minister are either more sparingly 
given now-a-days, or have altogether ceased. In 
short, in many districts, especially in Silesia, and 
Lusace, this question of endowment is become so 
critical as seriously to compromise the very existence 
of an evangelical Church. 

Again, the divisions between a pastor and his flock 
are often adduced as valid motives for desiring a 
change. No doubt that dissent, church-building and 
repairs, disputes as to privileges and rights, may easily 
arise to poison the life of a poor pastor, especially if 
the provincial councillors, or the judge, or the com- 
missioners manage affairs so as, directly or indirect- 
ly, to make the pastor seem covetous or quarrelsome, 
and treat him in a disrespectful and humiliating man- 
ner. I know no course to take, in a case like this, 
but to bear it with patience and resignation ; to 



96 ^ My Mijiisterial Expeidences. 

watch and pray against bitterness of feeling ; and 
to remember that we are followers of Him who 
bore the sins of the whole world, and who, when he 
vras reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered, 
threatened not. If the pastor win in such a dispute 
as this, he often loses part of his congregation for 
years. If he is defeated, his importance and influence 
are diminished for a still longer period. As to a move 
to another parish, he should only make it when the 
difference is perfectly adjusted, else his successor 
will inherit the same odium. But if tlie pastor has 
undermined his happy relations with his flock by 
any fault of his own — by pride, covetousness, thrift- 
lessness, dishonourable dealings, misuse of the pulpit 
or neglect of his official duties — why, he must reap 
what he has so-v^ti, however bitter it may be. To 
free him from his painful position by giving him 
another cure, could only be justifiable in the event of 
his earnest repentance. If disagreements such as these 
were once made a reason for giving up one cure for 
another, it would become indeed an easy matter to 
change. The Church authorities must exercise their 
discretion in such a case ; must protect the congre- 
gation, not encourage and reward the offender. And 
as to the patron who has appointed the minister, he 
must pay the penalty for the unwise choice he or his 
father made. 

There is another reason which makes a change 
anxiously sought after, and that is the inherent differ- 



Preferme7it. 97 

ences between the inhabitants of town and country. 
Young ministers born and educated in cities find it 
difficult to get on in country parishes. Very often 
they bring with them a contemptuous estimate of 
farmers and labourers, and think that they must let 
themselves down to their level. And as soon as the 
latter discover that their pastor considers himself 
their superior, and assumes a condescending manner 
in his intercourse with them, it is all over with his 
chance of doing good. Least of all can country peo- 
ple tolerate any artificial, aifected attempt at ' doing 
the popular ' on the part of the minister or his wife, 
and secretly viewing them as simple and stupid. They 
are far more shrewd than is generally supposed. Then 
the pastor's wife, a town lady perhaps, may not like 
her position. The house is too small or too humble- 
looking ; her garden is not a pretty one ; the kitchen 
chimney smokes ; the cellar is under water in the 
spring ; the retirement is unbearable, or the neighbour- 
hood dull. She thoughtlessly complains to her maid, 
who straightway carries it into the village. Or per- 
haps neither husband nor wife knows much of house- 
keeping ; they try to live as town's-people do ; but their 
income proves insufficient. The pastor preaches above 
the comprehension of the people, of whom he really 
knows nothing ; the church grows more and more 
empty. He thinks that if he were but in a town, his 
talents would meet with due recognition. The habit 
he falls into of attributing his want of acceptance to 

G 



98 My Ministerial Experiences. 

the stupidity of his flock, not to any defect of his 
own, quiets his conscience indeed, but rouses anger 
and opposition in them. And no doubt the preacher 
in the city has an easier task than his country brother. 
His congregation is larger ; natural endowments find 
more who are attracted by such. The pastor of 
some small country district has a very difficult lesson 
to learn : faithfulness in little things. Each youth, 
each child, each useless man, weighs upon his spirits. 
He must take thought for them all; must often seek to 
conciliate them in a manner trying to his own pride. 
Now, in the town, ten may remain away unnoticed : 
ten others will come in their places. But, on the other 
hand, the country pastor has the great advantage of 
coming into more intimate relations with his flock, 
and of thoroughly knowing individuals. He who is 
faithful over little, shall be set over much. A tho- 
rough experience of any single thing, a thorough 
knowledge of any one heart, is better than a wide, 
superficial acquaintance with many. The care of 
souls, in the true sense of the term, is indeed only 
to be learnt in a small congregation. It is not 
enough to be conversant, or to flatter one's-self that 
one is so, with some cases of spiritual experience 
here and there ; one must be able to watch and guide, 
and attend intimately to each with earnest interces- 
sion and affectionate interest. 

A preacher in one of our neighbouring districts 
had laboured, as he believed, zealously and faith- 



Preferment. 9 9 

fully for many years without seeing any result of his 
labours. He began to feel low-spirited, and to wish 
for a change. His doctor sent him to a sea-bathing 
place. In the neighbourhood dwelt a minister, 
whose reputation for usefulness was widely spread ; 
the stranger paid him a visit, and attended his 
church. He saw the power of God's word exem- 
plified in the behaviour of the large congregation, 
and lamented his own depressing case to his more 
successful brother. * I, too, preach the gospel, 
but I make no effect.' 'Art thou thyself con- 
verted?' was the reply. He knew not what answer 
to make, and the other minister went on : ' The 
main point is, that thou shouldst thyself be con- 
verted, then the congregation, or at all events some 
among them, are sure to follow thee.' Our friend 
went back to his cure with this question, ' Art thou 
converted ?' ringing in his ears, and it daily became 
more importunate. The tame, conventional, and 
laboured sermons he had been wont to deliver began 
to weary him, and whenever he sat down to compose 
one, he was haunted by this question as to his own 
conversion. Soon after he had applied himself to 
answering it — at first, indeed, in the negative, then in 
a joyful affirmative — there began to be a stir in the 
congregation, and finally, it became one of the centres 
of spiritual life of the neighbourhood. The conver- 
sion of the head, of the intellect, suffices indeed for the 
preaching of detached truths ; but the truths the whole 



I oo My Ministerial Experiences. 

truth, can only be set forth by one who lives in it with 
heart and soul; and the spraying in Christ's stead' 
is only possible to those who really know something 
experimentally of the love of Christ, his seeking, 
saving, love to sinners. Now, farmers and labourers 
have a much more acute ear for this than half, or even 
wholly, educated classes in the town. The instinct 
with which children take to people, or turn away, 
according as these have or have not a sincere love for 
them, is very remarkable ; and simple village people 
have much the same intuitive perception as to the 
spiritual state of their pastor. Mere orthodoxy, mere 
natural endowments, will not please them long ; they 
soon find out that the one thing needful is wanting, and 
they draw back. A working man once said, 'Our 

pastor preaches fine, but when pastor N preached 

here once, it was as sweet as honey.' Amongst the 
signs that are to accompany the days of the Son of man, 
the prophets and the Lord himself give prominence 
to the preaching of the gospel to the poor ; and a 
true pastor must seek to afford this evidence, and 
must esteem it as the highest of his privileges. The 
preacher in the city is very easily led to direct his 
teaching chiefly to the rich and distinguished. And, in- 
deed, provided all is done decently and in order, these 
are the more easy to satisfy. Natural ability will gene- 
rally insure success in the early years of a man's life, 
though it will not retain it, as the history of many a 
once admired city minister proves. But to all pastors 



Preferment. i o i 

who wish to change their sphere because of their 
want of success, we strongly recommend that they 
look out for the cause in themselves, and be not too 
ready to assume that it must needs lie in the congre- 
gation, or in any external circumstance. 

To sum up, then. Although, in my opinion, a 
pastor cannot be blamed if, under the strong pressure 
of circumstances, he apply for preferment, still there 
is something very undignified and reprehensible in 
making such applications repeatedly. No one, in- 
deed, thoroughly understands the laws according to 
which the Almighty apportions earthly possessions to 
men ; but still no one would venture to maintain that 
the rich stand higher in the Divine favour than the 
poor. And our Lord and Saviour chose poverty and 
a low estate as his personal lot when he came among 
us, thereby teaching us that these are no disgrace in the 
sight of God, and least of all in the case of a mini- 
ster. The true Christian has always a treasure, and if 
he but contemplate it enough, worldly possessions will 
lose, in his eyes, that overweening value which worldly 
men assign to them. The pastor is often taught by 
observation that wealth cannot confer happiness, can 
still less bring peace to the soul ; he should remem- 
ber that this holds true of good livings and comfort- 
able parsonages. A superintendent once said of a 
naturally gifted pastor, whose course had been one 
of unbroken prosperity from his university days up- 
wards — 'That our brother M should make so 



I02 My Ministerial Experiences, 

little impression upon his flock, is only explicable to 
me by the fact of his being without any experience of 
life's troubles and anxieties.' 

Again, it must not be overlooked that old divines, 
whose authority is deservedly respected by the 
Church, as, for example, Gerhard and Spener, have 
very decidedly expressed their disapprobation of appli- 
cations by the clergy for a change of benefice. Just 
as the possibility of divorce desecrates the marriage 
tie, and diminishes its sacred solemnity, so we observe 
that the looking out for other cures does not tend to 
sanctify and exalt the relations between minister and 
people j rather it brings in an element of unrest, and 
promotes impatience instead of mutual repentance 
and amendment. To which we may add, that many 
pastors, in their anxiety to better their condition, 
reckon without their host, and find, too late, that they 
have not attained their end. There is a great fund of 
patience and consolation in staying where God has 
placed us, and enduring what God has assigned. If, 
in our self-will, we run into the fire, we have no pro- 
mise that it shall not burn us. 

One preferment, however, there is, which is sure 
to come, and that without any application made to 
patrons or to councils ; when the evening is come, the 
Lord of the vineyard will say to his steward, * Call 
the labourers, and give them their hire.' He who fills 
his office faithfully, and with a single eye to this 
reward, will not find it difficult to wail a while in con- 



Preferment. 1 03 

tentment and patience in the place appointed him — 
for the evening is not far off. Then the question will 
not be, ' What was thy clerical income ; how much of 
it hast thou left behind thee f but, 'What use didst 
thou make of the talents intrusted to thee f Then 
it will not be asked if the field of labour lay in the 
garden or the wilderness. What more is required of 
the steward than that he be found faithfuH The 
brilliant gifts admired of men, and their visible 
results, no doubt help on a man's promotion here 
below, but not that final promotion of which we 
speak ; for the rich shall hardly enter into that rest 
which remaineth for the people of God. Perhaps 
there be but few ministers who shall be saved ; but 
one thing is certain, he only who is faithful shall wear 
the crown, he who is faithful over a few things shall be 
ruler over many. We who are constantly teaching to 
others how, through much tribulation, the kingdom of 
God must be entered, shall we not learn the lesson 
ourselves] We who are so ready to console others 
with the prospect of eternity, when all tears shall be 
wiped away, all care and sorrow ended, shall we not 
ourselves look up to the Author and Finisher of faith, 
who might have had the joy of Heaven, but chose 
to bear the cross, and despise the shame, and now 
sitting at God's right hand, says to his people, 
' Where I am, there shall also my servant be.' Ah, 
Lord, so only we be thine, let all else go, in heaven or 
earth, we will wilHngly wait till thy preferment come ! 



1 04 My Ministerial Experiences. 

But we must take another case into our considera- 
tion. It may not please God to grant strength for 
work to the end of life, he may give his servant a 
period of retirement and repose on earth. The ques- 
tion as to the proper time to seek for a retiring pen- 
sion and resign active duty, is a difficult one to an- 
swer. The natural man within us is very conceited, 
and apt to rate his gifts higher than they deserve. 
He lays claim to a wider usefulness than he possesses, 
flatters himself that the congregation feel greater love 
and reverence than they really do, persuades us at 
last that we are quite essential, while at the very time 
people may be wishing to get rid of us ! Growing 
old and growing weak is generally a very gradual 
process ; just as we do not notice the growth of the 
child with whom we daily are, so the diminution of 
our own faculties is the last thing that we discover. 
It is no doubt very natural and very excusable that 
men should retain office too long, but it is an evil for 
all that. One who has never done much more in 
his benefice than to consume its revenues, and get 
through its outward duties, will, indeed, find it espe- 
cially difficult to draw the line where this do-nothing 
career should cease. For, as to the ideal beautiful 
relations between the aged pastor and the flock he 
has brought up, this, as we have before said, pre- 
supposes almost ideal characters. Far more com- 
monly the old man, through selfishness or the 
delusions of vanity, retains his post longer than he 



Preferment. 105 

ought, to the injury of his parish. In our days the 
pulse of the times beats with feverish celerity ; theo- 
ries, opinions, tastes, alter far more rapidly than of 
yore ; we grow old sooner than we used to do. It 
may, indeed, be plausibly objected that since the 
word of God is the same for all times and all circum- 
stances, the flight of years tells less upon the minister's 
office than any other ; but in point of fact he who is 
no longer .up to the age, and who is no longer under- 
stood by or in sympathy with the present generation, 
can no longer exert a due influence. But it is impos- 
sible to lay down any general rule as to the proper 
age for retiring from active service. Both mentally 
and physically some men grow old much sooner than 
others. There are young pastors quite incapable of 
the amount of exertion that their seniors get through 
without much fatigue. Men of a melancholy tem- 
perament and a bad digestion are the most easily 
worn out. The superintendent and the Synod have, 
it is true, a voice in the matter, but they too often 
consider it, a want of brotherly love and of proper 
respect for old age to speak out, and so they encour- 
age the aged pastor in his delusion, and never consider 
the unfortunate congregation. Then family ties fur- 
ther complicate the case ; the wife and children are 
unwilling to part with any portion of the income. 
And so one year glides away after the other, and the 
man loses the energy requisite to take a decided step. 
I have heard that a distinguished minister of state 



io6 My Ministerial Experiences. 

once asked his dismission from his late Majesty, 
who on his part requested him to retain office ; but 
in a few weeks the statesman reiterated his request, 
adding, * As yet I have my strength of will and clear- 
ness of intellect unimpaired, but whether in a year's 
time I shall be capable of the decision requisite to 
resign is very doubtful, and therefore I request to be 
allowed to retire at once.' And accordingly the king 
released his faithful servant. 

As a general rule, it may be said that a young 
minister is the most popular, at all events, when he 
preaches the gospel in the first freshness of his love 
and faith, and he will prove the most successful in 
rousing a congregation. The old minister is more in- 
clined to lead them on quietly and judiciously, and 
to build them up in the faith they have. But he has 
his bounds which he should not pass, and we must 
pray God to preserve each of us from overstepping 
the limit of incompetence. I should entreat the 
superintendent or some trustworthy neighbour to 
warn me in time, and should (I hope) consider 
his doing so a proof of real affection. Official jubi- 
lees often make a melancholy impression enough, and 
the order of merit bearing the number 50 is not 
alone a preacher of repentance, but also a warning 
voice that in many cases comes too late. No doubt 
the decisive step is rendered easier to take by the 
pension-fund for retired ministers. But it makes an 
unpleasant impression when the retiring minister 



Patrons. 107 

suddenly rates his income more highly than hereto- 
fore, so as to insure a larger compensation. Neither 
should the assistant have cause to complain of the 
amount of the retiring pension. But I am writing 
recollections of the past, and not peeps into the future. 
Finally, it is given to a living faith to take note of 
times and seasons, and to discern God's dealings ; and 
so we must hope and pray, through Divine grace, to 
hear and understand his call whenever he sees it fit 
to give his servants a period of repose, that they 
may prepare for their great journey to their Father's 
house. 



PATRONS. 

To pastors in the country, or in small towns, few 
things are more difficult than to take a right view of 
their relation to their patron, and therefore I will here 
give certain recollections and experiences of my own 
bearing upon this subject, in the hope of benefiting my 
younger brethren. Not that there are any universal 
rules to be laid down in the case. Much must de- 
pend upon whether the patron lives upon his estate, 
and manages it himself, or whether he takes a part 
in the Government, lives in town, and only brings 
his family to the country in summer ; whether he 
has let his property, or keeps a baihfif there ; 
whether he is an educated or uneducated man ; 



io8 My Ministerial Experiences. 

whether he has inherited the land from his ancestors, 
or recently purchased it on speculation ; whether he 
is a moral and church-going, or a notoriously irre- 
ligious character ; whether he merely looks upon his 
property as a source of personal revenue, or recog- 
nises his obligations towards his tenantry; whether 
he looks upon them as mere instruments to be used 
for his own profit, or as immortal beings for whom 
the Lord has shed his blood, and remembers that 
he will have to give an account of the souls of the 
household over which he is head. In one country 
village that I knew, there lived a rich old gentleman 
who had spent his youth at court, and adopted all 
the views and ideas of Voltaire. He very seldom 
made his appearance in church — not more than two or 
three times in the year — and then he used to take the 
newspaper there with him. Moreover, he repeatedly 
announced that he only came to set a good example 
to the common people. He often expressed his pity 
for me, condemned as I was to preach things that 
no rational man continued to believe. His great 
age and my youth made it easy for me to bear much 
that would otherwise have been very trying, added 
to which, I had an innate respect for all ' powers that 
be,' as 'ordained of God.' Because the patron misuses 
his position, the pastor is not to overlook the duties 
of his. A bad king is king still, and an ungodly 
patron is still the patron of the parish, and, as such, 
must be treated respectfully. It is worse than useless 



Patrons. 109 

to dispute with such men as these : bad feeUng is 
roused, and arguments thrown away. Two things 
are essential to a fair controversy. There must be 
some common ground of truth on which the disput- 
ants can meet, if only the belief in the existence of 
a God, and the immortal soul of man ; and also there 
must be a certain equality in station. Where neither 
the one nor the other of these conditions is found, 
disputations can only lead to estrangement or posi- 
tive separation. These sceptical gentlemen generally 
give themselves out as very tolerant ; and one must 
hold them to that, and insist upon the right they 
concede of private judgment, though generally at 
the risk of being considered ignorant and narrow- 
minded. Ridicule and a challenging tone must be 
passed over, as if unperceived, or else met with 
humility, and, if possible, with pertinent replies well 
seasoned with salt. The influence of such a man with 
the flock at large is fortunately but small. Thirty or 
forty years ago, poor and uneducated people took it 
for granted that the rich, the noble, and the educated, 
all lived without prayer, the Bible, or church ordi- 
nances ; and the power of a bad example to do harm 
is often exaggerated, as well as that of a good ex- 
ample to improve. 

In another parish lived a very eccentric man, who 
had been an officer in his earlier days, and still retained 
his military title. It was rumoured that his mind had 
been affected by a disappointment in love ; since then 



110 My Minis teidal Experiences. 

he had lived in strict retirement, and especially 
avoided all intercourse with womankind. His old 
and faithful man-servant had contracted many of his 
peculiarities, and spoke in the same style as his mas- 
ter, who never used a personal pronoun, but always 
vaguely spoke of one doing this or that. This strange 
pair came regularly to church, and attended every burial 
and every marriage. The bells were never allowed 
to ring without this gentleman being previously in- 
formed, and then he would invariably make his ap- 
pearance in high boots and full military costume. His 
beneficence and love for the poor knew no bounds ; 
and, consequently, he was always surrounded with 
beggars. They would cluster round his door singing 
hymns, or follow him about when he walked in his 
beautiful woods. He would often desire that the 
small surplus that remained in the church chest 
should be given to the poor, because, as he expressed 
it, ' The poor are the nearest agnati of the Church.' 
The first New-year's day that I spent in that parish, 
I was informed that my predecessor had always been 
in the habit of paying a visit to the patron, and wish- 
ing him a happy New-year. Accordingly, I wended my 
way to his house. When I had been announced, he 
himself opened his room door ; but as soon as he saw 
me in my cloak, he said, ' When one comes to con- 
gratulate one's patron, one might expect that one 
should appear in one's canonicals;' and he closed 
the door in my face. In the afternoon, I returned 



Patrons. 1 1 1 

in full canonicals, and I was graciously received. I 
was much struck by the very deep and clear under- 
standing this gentleman possessed of the way of sal- 
vation, confused as his mind was on other subjects. 
When the Berlin Hymn-book was first recommended 
to the churches, the other villages about declined it, 
on account of the expense ; but our patron rose in 
church, and announced to the congregation, * If the 
hymn-book be a good one, one will give the money 
to get a copy for each person ; but one must ex- 
amine it first.' Accordingly, I gave him the book 
with some little anxiety ; for I would gladly have 
kept to our old Porst. The following Sunday, after 
the sermon was over, his servant threw open the 
door of the family pew, and the officer walked up to 
the altar in his stately way, and said, * One must not 
be too easily led away in these matters. One has 
examined the hymn-book, and found much that is 
good therein; but the devil's name is never mentioned, 
and one is of opinion that, where the devil is want- 
ing, the Lord Jesus will not be found to be fully and 
clearly apprehended. One will, therefore, not give 
the money, and one will continue to sing Porst.' 

Whenever anything was said in the sermon that 
pleased him, or did not please him, he would take 
up his position before the altar, and, after having 
given his opinion in a few pregnant words, conclude 
invariably by saying, ' One has said this as patron 
of the church and parish.' The church, by the way. 



112 My Ministerial Experie7ices. 

had fallen sadly out of repair, and looked wretched 
enough. I once applied to him to restore it ; but 
he replied, * When one wants to see something beau- 
tiful, one can go into the woods ; but one goes to 
church to hear the word of God. One will not alter 
the church.' Whatever he gave to the poor, he 
chose to give with his own hand ; and if application 
was made to him to relieve this or that individual, 
he would always reply, 'One may send the people 
here, and one will give.' When his end came, he 
received the holy Communion, having previously 
made his confession : ' One has been a great sinner ; 
but, through the blood of Jesus, one is going to the 
Father.' His end was perfect peace. At his funeral 
there was a great crowd of beggars ; and when the 
coffin was placed in the vault, one of them cried 
aloud, 'We have had a great loss !' All wept bit- 
terly, and no wonder; for certainly their loss was 
great. 

We often hear pastors, who have to deal with 
irreligious and self-righteous patrons, express the wish 
to be connected with a patron worthy of the name ; 
one who would set a good example to the parish in 
church-going, Bible-reading, and Sabbath observance, 
etc. But even such a position as this has difficulties 
of its own. In a district with which I was ac- 
quainted there lived a landed proprietor who was 
universally recognised as a pious man, and was most 
zealous in the cause of missions and Bible societies. 



Patrons. 1 1 3 

His family and household were universally respected. 
Now, in the parish there were, no doubt, a few really 
converted people ; but the profession made by the 
majority, when one came to look into it, was a mere 
external thing, without practical influence upon their 
character ; and yet they were perfectly self-satisfied, 
and the parish had got the name of a very religious 
one. For to please the patron, as well as to get 
something from him, they diligently attended church, 
and sang, and prayed in their own houses ; but a sin- 
cere repentance and amendment of life they did not 
look upon as essential. Generally speaking, in such 
parishes the people are wont to be exclusively de- 
voted to the patron, especially if he be good- 
humoured and liberal. Now, so long as the pastor 
remains on thoroughly good terms with this gentle- 
man and his family, he may indeed get some reflected 
influence ; but if in any one respect he differ, he 
loses his hold on his flock. And generally the 
patron or his wife expects the pastor to lead some 
individual or other, with whose conduct they are dis- 
satisfied, into a new way of life ; and if he fail in this, 
they are very apt to find fault with him for want of 
zeal or want of tact ; and the greater the general 
agreement between pastor and patron, the more 
striking the slightest discrepancy. Of all parishes, 
the hardest to manage is a self-righteous and out- 
wardly religious one. The people have long been 
accustomed to the sound of the gospel, since for a 

H 



1 1 4 My Ministerial Experiences. 

number of years the patron's choice of pastor and 
schoolmaster has been carefully made ; and the ' little 
flock,' when it finds too much support and deference, 
is apt to grow spiritually sick, because those who 
are not really in earnest add themselves to its ranks. 
In my opinion, there is but one remedy, and that is, 
a strict maintenance of discipline. The patron, the 
church authorities, and the pastor must be of one 
mind as to the way of treating particular cases ; 
must diligently consult and pray together, and when- 
ever a brother falls into any sin, they must take the 
course prescribed by the Lord in the i8th chapter 
of St. Matthew. But it may so happen that the 
patron is averse to discipline ; will have everything 
effected by love ; and the poor pastor, on his side, 
cannot convert these professors. And yet I would 
guard against its being supposed that good patrons 
are not blessings to pray and thank God for. I only 
warn those connected with them not to overlook the 
special difficulties that may arise even in such a for- 
tunate case. 

Another circumstance that very much impedes the 
activity of the faithful minister, is the patron's estate 
being let, or occupied by an agent. These men are 
often very jealous of their authority, and if not openly 
hostile, usually quite indifferent to the Church, and they 
set an example of an irreligious and careless life. Now, 
if the pastor be on too friendly terms with them, his 
ministerial character suffers, whereas if he avoid them. 



Patro7ts. 1 1 5 

and openly express his disapprobation, they may raise 
many difficulties in his way ; for the steward or agent 
has great influence upon the material prosperity of 
the parish, can oppress and injure individuals, and if 
the poor observe or imagine that by speaking slight- 
ingly of the Church, or rejecting its ordinances, they 
rather recommend themselves to favour than other- 
wise, this will tell upon their conduct. The old 
Adam, to whom the Cross is a stumbling-stone and 
foolishness, flourishes apace under this worldly sanc- 
tion. Sins of unchastity, especially, are very mildly 
treated and invariably increase ; all so-called innocent 
amusements, such as dancing and drinking in public 
houses being encouraged, while Httle interest is taken 
in the school, and working on Sundays is readily 
allowed. The poor pastor is stamped as an accuser 
and denunciator who afflicts the working classes with 
his mistaken severity, grudges the young every kind of 
pleasure, and has no pity upon the needy who would 
gladly earn a trifle on a Sunday if they could. An 
irreligious agent can, by means of very commonplace 
wit indeed, make a pastor ludicrous ; and if once the 
people fall into the habit of laughing at the individual 
pastor, they soon lose their respect for the Church. 
Swearing is a sin that has fallen into general disuse, 
but agents of an inferior stamp are still addicted to 
it, from a miserable delusion that it gives them a cer- 
tain degree of consequence. Nothing more inflating 
than a half-and-half position and ' a little brief autho- 



ii6 My Mi7iisterial Experiences, 

rity,' and when the two are united, a man's vanity 
may really reach the bounds of utter folly. An agent 
is indeed seldom to be called even half a gentleman, 
and a sub-official of whatsoever kind is no very im- 
posing personage ; but as both these have to convey 
the orders of the real authorities to the common 
people, they are fond of playing the part of the great 
man, and as they suspect that their inferiors have at 
bottom no profound respect for them, they bluster and 
scatter oaths and curses round. I have often been 
pained to hear shepherd boys, when driving their flocks 
to the field, swear fearfully at them or at their dog. 
Upon one occasion I remember preaching upon the 
third commandment, and showing that the curse only 
falls on him who utters it, not on the servant or the 
dog who is cursed, but inevitably upon him who 
curses them, since the Lord God has solemnly de- 
clared that he will not hold him guiltless who taketh 
his name in vain. ' God,' I said, ' must punish the 
swearer, for his word is true, and his purpose cannot 
fail. A sensible, rational man cannot by any possi- 
bility swear and curse, and must needs consider those 
who do so fools, since they, weak and miserable 
men, thus defy the omnipotent God.' On the Mon- 
day after this sermon, a shepherd lad told me that 
he, for his part, had resolved to leave off swear- 
ing, but that the bailiff had that morning, as he called 
up the drovers, addressed his prayers to the Devil 
as usual. 



Patrons. 1 1 7 

As a general principle, I may advise the pastor 
never, under any circumstances, to seek for anything 
whatsoever from patron, bailiff, or agent, beyond 
what is unmistakably his by right, and even to be 
cautious in accepting little friendly services from any 
of them. If once the pastor appears at the Hall, 
and it be said, 'What else can he be wanting now?' 
all is over ! A barrel of water, a bundle of straw, and 
trifles of that kind, are indeed given with apparent wil- 
lingness, but secretly they are rated highly. Even if 
the pastor pays full price for whatever he is supplied 
with, — milk, butter, corn, etc., — still it gives occasion 
for chattering and for misunderstandings, and he will do 
better if he supply himself from other sources. Even 
the customary offerings — those things that belong to 
him in virtue of his position — are too frequently 
causes of disagreement. The agent will often stand 
up unfairly for the interest of his master, and say that 
the worst is good enough for the pastor, and what is 
really the latter's due will be made over as a gift. If, 
however, he complain to the master of the agent's 
conduct, he v/ill, generally speaking, make bad worse. 
These are trifles, but trifles that embitter life a good 
deal, especially if the pastor's wife get discontented, 
and pour her complaints continually into her hus- 
band's ears. 

Another excellent rule for a minister is caution in 
his social intercourse. To be on intimate terms with 
the landed gentry or the agent is only desirable when 



1 1 8 My Ministerial Experiences. 

these are religious people. Otherwise he is in great 
danger, and if he seeks to win over these men by a 
friendly demeanour, by adopting their tone, playing 
cards with them, and so forth, he will be the one who 
is conquered, he will not conquer them. Out of 
familiar friendships come often the keenest enmities. 
The pastor must not be a follower of the world, must 
not keep house like the agent, the bailiff, etc., must 
not, therefore, accept from them hospitalities which 
he cannot return. He must, indeed, when invited, 
attend weddings and christenings, but he must know 
when to come away. Again, nothing can be more un- 
wise than to make social distinctions. If the rich 
farmer's daughter marries, and the pastor goes with his 
wife to the wedding ; he must do the same when the 
poor shepherd or labourer invites him, and drink his 
simple cup of coffee, with his two or three guests. It 
is not for the sake of good eating that an invitation 
should be accepted, but on account of the respect 
it shows to the ecclesiastical position ; and if the 
pastor no longer wears his gown, it should be plainly 
seen that he has only just taken it off. There must 
be grace said at table ; and the presence of the pastor, 
while it does not scare away cheerfulness, must be a 
restraint upon all kinds of excess. 

Above all, there must be no difference in the mini- 
ster before and after dinner. In former times, the 
office itself had far more weight than it has now, and 
the respect felt for the profession could bear and 



Patrons. \ 1 9 

overlook what now hopelessly offends. People pay far 
closer attention to what the pastor says and does, than 
he himself imagines, and one false step may cause an 
amount of mischief that sermon upon sermon all 
fail to remedy. To hit the happy medium is not, 
indeed, given to all ; but each must pray to be kept 
straight. A pastor who thinks that foolish talking 
and jesting, which is not convenient, will make him 
popular, is grievously mistaken, and he is only under- 
mining his own position. Again, when amongst 
educated people, he must never hear holy subjects 
treated with levity without bearing witness. As a 
general principle, whenever this is done in his pre- 
sence, he may assume either that he is not in his 
proper place, or that he has already given the com- 
pany a handle for putting him thus to the test. 

I was once at a party where, after dinner, there was 
a good deal of light talk on the subject of hell, and 
a military man of high rank gave it as his opinion, 
that hell was an invention of the priests to keep 
ignorant people in order by fear, but that a rational 
man would love and follow virtue for its own sake ; 
also, that Scripture itself does not terrify us with this 
ugly doctrine, but teaches that all goodness must 
proceed from love. I sat by, and knew not at first 
whether to speak or be silent, but as some who were 
then looking at me had been in church that very 
morning — it was the first Sunday after Trinity — I 
stood up and gave out the text of the day : ' There 



1 20 My Ministerial Experiences. 

was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple 
and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day ; and 
there was a certain beggar,' etc. In my agitation, 
I laid perhaps a greater emphasis upon the words 
hell and in torment than was necessary, and then, 
while all were silent, I took up my hat and went 
away. This incident led to no coolness between me 
and the family. 

On another occasion, however, I remember re- 
ceiving myself a most impressive lesson and rebuke. 
The bailiff was keeping his birthday on the Sunday, 
and, after service was over in the chapel -of- ease, he 
invited me to dinner. After dinner, cards were played, 
and I, who was waiting for my carriage, was standing 
at the window, looking out for it. At that moment 
the bailiff was summoned away, and requested me 
to hold his hand for a moment. As I knew the 
game in my college days, I took up his cards, but 
gave them back as soon as he returned. When I 
left he accompanied me to the house-door, and said, 
* You have unwittingly done me a great injury to-day, 

for when I was called off, N of W was 

by, and he was anxious to get a situation under me, 
which pleased me much, for he is a worthy man. 
But when he saw you take up the hand at cards he 
drew back, and said it had been chiefly on account 
of the church and preaching that he had been anxious 
to move, but that if he were only to change into a 
parish where the pastor played cards, he might as 



Patrons. 1 2 1 

well remain where he was.' This said N — ^ — had 
been in the habit of coming from some distance to 
ray church every Sunday, but after this, he went over 
to the Old Lutherans, and then to America. This 
incident distressed me a good deal, and for some 
time was much talked of, and injured me not a little 
in the estimation of pious people. And, however few 
the number of these may be in a congregation, the 
pastor must see that he do nothing to offend them. 
A patron, who was looking out for an incumbent, 
having had his attention called to a certain minister, 
made a considerable journey to the village where 
the latter lived, and went on Saturday evening into 
the public-house. Those who were there assembled 
were easily led to give their opinion of the pastor, 
but not satisfied with this, after church on Sunday the 
patron asked the landlord whether there were not a 
few pious people in the village who were in the habit 
of praying much, and constantly attending divine ser- 
vice. The landlord named one or two of this stamp. 
The patron forthwith went to see them, and after this 
interview, offered the living in his gift to the pastor. 
My belief is, that he went the right way to work. 

Pastors not unfrequently give rise to unpleasant 
feelings on the part of the congregation, — more espe- 
cially the patron, the agent, and other leading men,— 
by a decided abuse of their pulpits. In small parishes, 
nothing gives so much offence as personal allusions 
and innuendoes in the minister's sermon. Men would 



122 My Ministerial Experiences, 

much rather hear the truth plainly and even roughly- 
spoken than be subjected to innuendoes. Therefore 
the pastor must be very cautious, and if the text or a 
natural association of ideas should suggest anything 
that might be thought glaringly applicable to this or 
that member of his flock, he must repress it. It is not 
enough that the pastor avoid all mention of nam.es ; 
this he is legally bound to do ; but every one knows 
very well who is meant, especially with regard to cases 
that have come before the consistory, and with which, 
therefore, not only the church authorities but their 
wives must be conversant. It is much better to 
remonstrate with the offending party alone ; but, 
of course, this requires more courage than to make 
covert allusions from the pulpit, where no man can 
contradict them. I remember having for some 
time a certain grievance upon my mind against a 
rich and influential man, but whenever I saw him 
I had not courage to mention it, for fear of giving 
him offence ; and, besides, his wife and children 
kept coming in and out, and we were seldom alone. 
After long putting ofl", I at length wrote to him, and 
requested some private conversation. He instantly 
replied to my note, and appointed a day and hour. 
Now, then, the ice was broken. I went. We 
sat together on the sofa, discussed the weather and 
the harvest, till at last he asked me what I specially 
wanted to say. Upon which, I just said it out, and 
added, if it were true, it was not right before God. 



Patrons. 1 23 

This man neither denied the charge nor attempted 
to defend himself ; he explained to me how the thing 
had come about ; and my fear of giving offence 
proved perfectly ungrounded. Finally, he gave up 
the sinful practice, and ever afterwards treated me 
with confidence and affection. 

I may here remark that the respectable rustic is 
much more sensitive than is often supposed ; he sets 
a high value upon character; and if the pastor in 
his sermons talk at hi?n in a way that diverts others, 
he is highly offended. The preacher in a town need 
not be half as cautious ; he may indulge far more 
freely in generalization ; but in the village, every one 
is so intimately acquainted with his neighbour's say- 
ings and doings, that any personal allusion is at once 
understood and applied. If one wishes to rebuke a 
sin committed in the village, and common to the ma- 
jority of its inhabitants, one must speak out plainly, 
and not lay one's-self open to the suspicion of dealing 
in intentional innuendoes. It often, indeed, happens 
that people think the pastor is preaching at their special 
case, when, in point of fact, he knows nothing at all 
about it. In one of my districts lived a labourer's 
family, which passed for very respectable, and every 
now and then came to church. One Sunday, man 
and wife sat together, and I remarked at the close 
of the service that both seemed very much agitated. 
In the afternoon, the husband came to me in great 
excitement, and complained that I had held him up 



I 24 My Ministerial Experie^ices, 

to the whole congregation, but that, since the thing 
was known, he would set it to rights. I, indeed, had 
been perfectly in the dark; but it now came out 
that this person had forsaken his lawful wife in Meck- 
lenburg eighteen years before, and lived with the 
woman to whom I had supposed him married. They 
had a large family, who had all been registered as 
legitimate, and several of v/hom had been confirmed 
as such. Neither he nor the woman in question 
were to be persuaded that I had not been aware of 
this fact. They were soon afterwards quietly married. 
Indeed, it often happened that people thought I knew 
of certain dishonest acts of theirs, and gave them to 
understand as much in my sermon. Some brought 
me the stolen articles to induce me not to point them 
out, and were very thankful to escape that disgrace. 
I must say, however, that these were generally 
young people. I remember a girl bringing me a 
handkerchief late at night, and a lad a pair of 
wooden shoes, that they had stolen. This application 
of the preached word to the individual conscience 
is the work of the Holy Spirit alone ; and, therefore, 
one must never go into the pulpit without imploring 
his aid, for without prayer, the word remains cold 
and ineffectual. Although I have been discoun- 
tenancing personal allusions from the pulpit, I do not 
mean that the preacher should confine himself to mere 
generalities ; rather he must seek to bring the word 
home to the conscience, must apply it to daily do- 



D ay-Labourers. 125 

mestic life, point out in a special and definite manner 
the curse and wretchedness of sin, and the nature 
and power of repentance ; so that if any one should 
be asking himself in secret, 'What shall I do then?' 
he may have a clear and practical answer returned 
to the important question. 



DAY-LABOURERS. 

The regulations made of late years as to the tenure 
of land, have exercised a most marked influence over 
the social condition of many country parishes. The 
large farmers, who were formerly the very mainstay of 
the community, are either materially diminished in 
number, or have died out entirely. In one village, for 
instance, there will be no farmers at all ; in another, 
where in former years one could number eight of this 
class, there is only one left now, and the same in a 
third village, which used to have six. Before these 
new arrangements, the farmers were still bound to 
render certain services to the landlord, to carry man- 
ure, to help in harvest, etc. Since the change made 
in their condition, and the diminution in their num- 
bers, of course the number of labourers has been 
greatly increased ; and there are now several estates 
upon which you only find the lord of the manor 
and the day-labouring class. In other districts, the 
farmers have removed from the village, and live apart 



1 26 My Ministerial Experiences, 

on their own fields, far from church and school. 
This isolation of theirs has weakened the sense of 
fellowship between them and the rest of the neigh- 
bourhood ; nay, it has even raised an antagonism be- 
tween the two parties ; and it has much estranged 
the former from the church. It is, indeed, undeniable 
that, in a politico -economical point of view, the 
liberation of the land from feudal obligations has 
had advantageous results. The farmers make more 
at the present time out of half their land, than they 
did formerly out of the whole ; and the gentry who 
have bought the property of the farmer, and annexed 
it to their own estate, are able to farm it more scien- 
tifically, and thus greatly to raise its value. But our 
general social condition has not gained. Since far- 
mers have been able to mortgage, divide, and sell their 
freeholds, many old families among them have be- 
come impoverished, and have sunk to the condition 
of day-labourers. If there is a large family, it gene- 
rally becomes impossible for the eldest son to hold 
the much-incumbered property, and the whole family 
lose their old central-point and place of refuge. On 
the royal domains, indeed, affairs have taken a differ- 
ent course ; the farmers have often grown rich, and 
rejoice in the name of landed proprietor, despising 
that of farmer, and no longer working as did their 
fathers, but employing day-labourers. Besides which, 
the increase of the potato and turnip crops, and 
other produce of the kind, has necessarily led to 



Day -Labourers. 127 

a much -increased demand for labour on all large 
properties. 

Now, it is a universal complaint amongst the clergy 
that the families of these day-labourers are becoming 
more and more estranged from the church, and are, 
with great difficulty, induced to send their children to 
school. The fact is, that from Monday morning till 
Saturday night both man and wife are hard at work, 
and the only time they have for themselves is on the 
Sunday. It is the day when the husband must plant 
and hoe his own potatoes, make any little repairs his 
home may want, and examine into the condition of 
his wooden-soled shoes and those of his children. 
The wife, on her part, has enough to do, to wash, 
mend, and darn the clothes worn during the past 
week. To which we may add, that in harvest, and 
at all busy times, the gentry are very willing to en- 
courage Sunday labour, so that, naturally enough, the 
idea springs up, ' We labourers cannot possibly go 
to church.' And when once the habit is fairly broken 
through, even when winter comes, and they might 
find time, there is no longer any inclination for church- 
going. The constant change of stewards and agents 
tends more and more to relax all ties of personal at- 
tachment, all other ties, indeed, than those of mere 
interest on either side, and the old reciprocity of filial 
confidence and fatherly supervision are utterly gone. 
The best efforts of individual benevolence on the part 
of the landed proprietors effect but little, for the class 



128 My Ministerial ExpeiHences, 

of day-labourers sinks more and more into a stupid sen- 
suality and a mistrust of their superioi;s. Poor people 
who have to work hard throughout the week, and to 
spend the Sunday in domestic care and worry, lose 
at length all sense of affinity to another world, and 
the outcome of the system is a creature very like other 
beasts of burden, both as to his labour, and his 
feeding, resting, and enjoying. The wide -spread 
complaints we hear of drunkenness, robbery, and 
immorality, are certainly far from being ungrounded ; 
nay, things have come to such a pass, that labouring 
men hardly seem aware of these being sins. They 
are still, however, somewhat amenable to the fear of 
man, and man only, and therefore they do screen some 
offences from view when they can. But, for the most 
part, the clergy are perfectly powerless, and have 
hardly any energy or spirit to go on labouring amongst 
this class. It has become one of the rarest things 
possible to meet with a labourer who conscientiously 
attends church and cares for his soul. We pastors 
often lay the fault of this on the proprietors or their 
representatives, and accuse them of directly or in- 
directly keeping the people away from church ; and 
this tends to the mutual estrangement of clergy and 
landed, gentry. In large towns, a race has been 
quietly allowed to spring up which boldly proclaims 
that there is no God and no immortality ; that has 
cast off all fear of hell, and scoffs at eternal punish- 
ment. If things go on as they are doing now, we 



Day-L adou rers, 1 2 9 

shall soon see the same state of things in the country. 
This race is one our fathers have not known, for 
though the poor have been always with i^, the Pro- 
letariat is a product of mammon -worship, the full 
development of which is still recent. 

Here it is that democracy seeks out its raw recruits, 
who will mount the barricade and face the cannon, 
while their loud-tongued leaders shelter themselves 
from personal danger ; here it is that a cowardly 
socialism finds a too ready ear ; here are the masses 
it would organize for a last war between rich and 
poor, which war, if ever it come to pass, will not 
realize the dreams of the literati^ but will tend to 
the disruption of every social tie. On the ruins of 
existing institutions gallows would rise for the rich, 
and mere bestial enjoyment run its brief career, to 
be succeeded by destitution and despair. In heathen- 
dom there were broad distinctions between freemen 
and slaves. Christianity would have all men alike 
free, but it is a miserable error to let unchristianized 
masses have it their own way in Christendom. They 
only whom the Son of God sets free can bear liberty. 

In the class of day-labourers and mechanics, there 
often springs up a feeling of envy and hatred to the 
rich, which only needs an exciting cause to lead to 
open revolt. Liberty without the fear of God is, 
indeed, the very reign of Satan upon the earth. The 
day-labouring class in great measure springs from 
that of domestics. The man-servant marries the 
I 



I JO My Ministerial Exp erie^ices. 

maid, and becomes a day-labourer. But even be- 
tween master and servant there is too often a latent 
enmity, and interest is the only strength of the tem- 
porary bond between them. The principle of the 
master is to get as much work as he can for as small 
wages. That of the servants, to get as large wages as 
possible for as little work. All the legal regulations 
recently made are merely a sad sign of the deterio- 
ration of the nature of the tie, and do but little to 
improve it. Law only produces dispute and recrimi- 
nation. That the master of the household ought 
to be not only a king but a priest in his family, is a 
truth often entirely forgotten ; and that honour is, for 
the Lord's sake, to be given to those to whom, from 
their position, honour is due, is a doctrine that has 
hardly now-a-days left a trace behind. Both master 
and servant are accustomed to give warning for the 
merest trifle. Complaints about servants are very com- 
mon, and constantly supply our housewives with con- 
versation ; but one who is in the confidence of servants 
hears terrible charges preferred against masters also. 
A household without love, without patience, taken 
up with earthly cares, covetousness, labour without 
prayer, can never be the abode of peace ; over-severity 
and cunning will always be waging war there, let the 
external profession be ever so evangelical. Any one 
who has seen the amount of fresh hiring that goes on 
in one of our villages at Michaelmas, may well feel 
sad at heart. A man without any home-feeling, any 



Day -Labourers. 1 3 1 

love for the place where he has worked, enjoyed, 
suffered, is more to be pitied than the superficial ob- 
server might suppose. 

In our days, we often hear expressions which imply 
that a monarchy cannot possibly be maintained on the 
unstable foundation of an equalized population. The 
throne requires for its support a powerful and influen- 
tial nobility; and kings who, to increase their own 
immediate power, restrict and enfeeble the nobles, 
really undermine their throne. This is agreeable 
even to the Napoleonic ideas, and hence an aristo- 
cracy, founded on wealth or office, has been created 
where no other was to be had. A democratic 
professor remarked, in the course of one of his 
lectures, that the nobles were essential spokes in the 
wheel of monarchy. Oddly expressed though the 
idea be, it is quite true ; and we would further ob- 
serve that, just as the king cannot dispense with the 
nobles, the nobles cannot spare the freeholder. No 
doubt the recent changes have estranged the classes, 
but the noble digs his own grave when he looks upon 
the plebeian freeholder as an enemy, and tries to sup- 
press him. On the whole, we have still in our province 
a good deal of respect and deference felt for our nobi- 
lity, though lately much has been done to decrease 
it. This the democrats know well, and, therefore, 
they do all they can to excite the farmer against the 
noble. It is a cheering fact that our present Legisla- 
ture should not only seek to uphold the rights of the 



132 My Ministerial Experiences. 

throne, but to do all in its power to preserve and 
encourage the farming class. And it would also be 
a worthy object of their activity to take up the con- 
dition of the day-labourer and mechanic with all 
their energy, for it is an urgent question, and one 
in which they are deeply concerned. I am not go- 
ing, however, to make any suggestions, for I am only 
occupied with the duties of the clergy. The two 
methods hitherto adopted for protection against the 
Proletariat, are a great increase in the numbers of the 
police, and a poor-rate. The first measure is plainly 
a sad necessity and a disgrace to Christianity ; and 
the latter assumes more and more the character of a 
tax levied by the poor upon the rich. Through de- 
fective management, idleness is often encouraged, 
and the saddest cases left unrelieved ; and, above 
all, the system in no way promotes what we may 
call class-conciliation. Unless the charitable hand 
that gives, and the grateful hand that receives, come 
into contact, there is no blessing in giving or taking. 
We may often hear it maintained positively, and 
not wholly without reason, that in order to remedy 
existing evils effectually, the condition of the day- 
labourer and mechanic must be fundamentally altered ; 
but then, we ask, how is this to be brought about % 
We wait in vain for a practical answer. Mere legis- 
lative enactments in such a case could, at the best, 
do no more than they have done in the matter of 
Sabbath observance. There can be dven. no law 



Day-L adourers. 1 3 3 

which can give life. One thing is certain : the mini- 
ster must wait for none, but must do what he can to 
attack the foe who has his very stronghold in these 
social difficulties. 

As for rationalism, with its motives of expediency 
and moderate worldliness, it may do for a while for 
educated classes, may help them to maintain an 
outward respectability ; but for the day-labourer, such 
a middle course is impossible ; and when he breaks 
with the Christian faith, the Bible, and the Church, 
the breach is a thorough one. In the higher ranks, 
unbelief may be kept within the bounds of morality 
by public opinion and other considerations ; but 
when the devil appears in the Proletariat, takes pos- 
session of the labourer or the mechanic, all barriers 
are broken down ; there is nothing left but the dread 
of the prison and house of correction. 

For my own part, I have been obliged to pay par- 
ticular attention to this labouring class, as they chiefly 
made up my flock. My first step was to become 
personally acquainted with them. I passed through 
the school into the family. But how difficult it was 
to get at the parents, who were hard at work all day, 
while on the Sunday I had to preach three times, 
and felt myself entitled to a little rest during the in- 
tervals. What particularly repelled me was their 
brutality in word and deed. The behaviour of married 
people to each other is quite different in rich and 
poor. Hard work and anxious care make men rough, 



134 My Ministerial Experiences, 

sulky, and irritable. I thought the poor children 
treated too coldly and harshly. Then the diet and 
the untidiness ; the unbearable atmosphere of the 
lower rooms, in which the beds took up almost all 
the space, for in most of them there were two 
families ; the filth before and behind the house ; 
the misery, drunkenness, immodesty, bad language, 
and the like, often made my duty a very trying one. 
But whenever I heard of any one being ill, I always 
went off at once, for the care of the sick was often 
left to little children. A doctor, indeed, could be 
got at the expense of the landlord, but the difficulty 
was to get his prescriptions attended to. Visits of 
this nature could not be short. One had to sit 
quietly and patiently by the bedside, not to shrink 
from lending a hand whenever one could afford the 
patient any relief, and to see that something was pro- 
vided which he could safely eat. Mere praying and 
reading is not all ; nay, it is often not to be at- 
tempted. Generally speaking, one finds the gentry, 
or the village officials, ready to come to the rescue 
in all urgent cases ; and the minister must not neglect 
his privilege of interceding for the poor and the sick. 
If the Lord allows him an opportunity of doing kind- 
ness to one, it is not lost upon the rest; and any 
care shown to a sick child, who would else have been 
neglected, is sure to meet with special gratitude. In 
short, one must pray God for a loving and patient 
spirit in dealing with these people, and not hold them 



D ay-Labourers. 1 3 5 

cheaper than the rich and cultivated. Once when I 
was preparing my sermon, wondering who would be 
in church, and asking myself what I particularly had 
to say, I saw the day-labourers pass by, and stopped 
to look after each. My Bible lay open on my table, 
I was then going through it, and had come to the 
6th chapter of Exodus : ' And Moses spake so with 
the children of Israel, but they hearkened not unto 
Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.' 
It is wonderful what an impression God's word makes 
upon the soul when it gives clear and distinct utter- 
ance to what had been already vaguely passing there. 
I must confess that from that hour I have had a very 
tender and indulgent feeling towards the hardworked 
poor, and when I find that all my seeking and striving 
has been in vain, I think of the want of success of 
Moses -from the same cause, and am reduced to 
silence, for what am I compared to him % In winter 
evenings I used to go pretty often to visit some of 
these families. One man had seven children, who 
had come in rapid succession ; he was hard-working, 
and well spoken of His children were all asleep 
when I went in^ and as I expressed the pleasure the 
sight of their peaceful little faces gave me, the father 
said, ' Ay, these are fine times for them ; they need 
not to take any thought for themselves.' On the 
Sunday the man was in church. I dwelt much upon 
the happy state of children, exempt from care as they 
were, and went on to say that believers were the 



136 My Ministerial Experiences. 

children of God, that the Lord had commanded them 
to be careful for nothing, and promised that he would 
care for them. The man understood me, and it evi- 
dently pleased him to hear his expression repeated 
from the pulpit. Another day I saw a thresher come 
out of his barn, his little children ran to meet him ; 
he took one in his arms, gave his hand to another, 
while a third clung to his coat. I addressed him, 
and congratulated him upon his children. He re- 
plied, * I must make much of them, poor things, since 
I am their father.' On Sunday, when I described the 
man with the three children, all were very attentive, 
and listened with pleasure while I went on to say 
that every evening the Lord God looked round for 
his children, and rejoiced when they clung to him, 
but that he had too many children who would not 
even wish him good -night, and quite forgot how 
willing he was to receive them. 

One year that the price of wheat had risen con- 
siderably, and that the farm -servants, to whom a 
certain percentage is always given at its sale, had 
got more money than usual, I began to persuade 
them to put by a little of it, and offered to keep their 
savings myself, a thing that had to be made a pro- 
found mystery of, for they are very suspicious, and 
feared that their masters might grudge them such an 
overplus. This measure proved a very successful one. 
Each man who on the Saturday night brought me a 
portion of his wages, received a book with an account 



Day -Labourers. 1 3 7 

of it, so that he could at any time know exactly how 
he stood. This book was kept carefully hidden, and 
the fact of its owner and I having a secret understand- 
ing between us, tended to establish a friendly feeling. 
I remember that once on a New Year's day I had 
above 700 thalers in my hands, intrusted to me by 
day labourers, carters, and shepherds who are 
generally more accessible than the others. They 
were veiy greatly delighted with the few extra gro- 
schen they received as interest. At first, all my 
efforts were directed towards cultivating in them a 
sense of order and cleanliness, and my next endea- 
vour was to lead them to see the blessing of domestic 
peace and mutual forbearance. But gradually I won 
several so far over that they began, out of respect 
to me, to come to church whenever they could. I 
freely gi'ant that in this saving process lay a tempta- 
tion to covetousness ; but, on the whole, the advan- 
tages far preponderated. The consciousness of hav- 
ing a little fund of their own in case of emergencies, 
gave the men a different position, encouraged the 
taste for order and honesty ; I have also invariably 
remarked that the possession of property, however 
small, has a favourable influence upon domestic life. 
Husband and wife have a secret between them ; have 
some other common topic than anxiety and distress. 
And then it tends to make the women cleaner and 
more thrifty in their housekeeping. Some of the 
men were a good deal impressed when I proved to 



1 38 My Ministerial Experiences. 

them that the groschen they daily spent in brandy 
came to more than twelve thalers in the year, and 
that for that sum many useful articles may be pur- 
chased, while the brandy consumed not money only, 
but much beside ; as, for instance, peace and concord 
at home, and the good opinion of their superiors. 
The most difficult cases to deal with amongst this 
class, were those of the men who had got into ar- 
rears with their employers. On an estate that I knew, 
corn, salt herrings, and even money, were always ad- 
vanced to the labourers, who had to work out their 
liabilities. If they wished at any time to leave, they 
were restrained by the fear of having a hea^y bill 
brought against them, or else the master into whose 
service they wished to enter was obliged to buy them 
off, and so, though called free labourers, they were 
virtually slaves. 

The years that I spent in this parish were the most 
laborious years of my life. Often I was ready to de- 
spair, and utterly weaiy, not of my work, but of 
working in vain ; and yet not so, for a few did awake 
out of merely earthly cares to care for their souls. 
Much has been gained where there is one labourer's 
family in a district which regularly attends church •; 
one can point to it as an instance of the practicability 
of the thing. But far more is gained where there is 
one member of the flock who by his life bears witness 
to the truth. Gradually the number of religious fami- 
lies amongst us rose to ten But my happiness in 



Day -Labourers. 139 

them was but short-lived. During the summer they 
were required to work on Sunday ; this, without any 
persuasion on my part, they dedined to do ; the con- 
sequence was they had warning given them, and at 
Michaehnas they were obhged to leave. That was a 
heavy blow to me, and as had often happened before, 
I had to begin anew. I may here observe that on 
all occasions where a pastor is professionally present, 
as at christenings, burials, etc., he should deal very 
tenderly and circumspecdy, and use the opportunity 
to gain the hearts of the people. One poor lad 
whom I had confirmed, and who had had serious 
impressions, fell sick. I very often went to see him ; 
his end came, and his father and mother, who lived 
on very bad terms, stood beside him. The dying 
boy looked at them with his dim eyes, reached out 
his hands to each, and then joined their hands to- 
gether. I was deeply touched, and, kneeling down, 
prayed for peace in life and death, and during my 
prayer tlie boy died. The impression made upon 
the parents was very great, and a blessing followed it. 
Nothing is more difficult, according to my experi- 
ence, than to conquer the tendency to steal. Day- 
labourers are allowed to keep pigs, geese, and even 
goats ; but the food of these creatures is generally 
stolen by the wife and children. This is the first 
step ; and it leads on and on, till all sense of the 
boundary-line between 7?ietnn and fuuin grows very 
obscure indeed. There is hardly any sin that so de- 



1 40 My Ministerial Experiences. 

grades a man as theft, and it is particularly ruinous 
to children. Once in visiting a certain school, I 
found there a boy without shoes and stockings, — as 
indeed was the case with many, and, moreover, singu- 
larly tattered and torn, as well as uncouth-looking. 
The master had placed him in the highest seat ; and 
when I asked him why he had done so, replied aloud, 
so that all the children could hear what he said, ' This 
is a stranger, so we must pay him particular honour, 
and besides, when he came to-day, the word of the 
Lord Jesus occurred to my mind, "He that receiveth 
one of these little ones, receiveth me," and so I gave 
him the best seat.' And while he was speaking, he 
went on stroking and caressing the chiid in a way 
which must have been quite a new thing to ^him. 
This teacher was said to be so popular with children, 
that they ran away from home to come to his school. 
I accordingly thought, here is a man from whom much 
may be learned. Afterwards I heard him say that 
this boy was a sad thief; but he added, in a con- 
fident tone, ' I shall bring him round, if only I can 
get hold of him, for I feel a strong aifection for him 
in my heart;' and so indeed it was. Later I 
confirmed that boy, and had much satisfaction from 
him. He who has love in his heart has plenty of 
courage as well, and is sure of a blessing. It is to 
me a wonderful thing to notice some pastors looking 
quietly on while landlord and farmers are robbed, and 
only evincing any sensibility when their own orchards 



Day-L abou re^^s. \ 4 1 

suffer. In such a case, if the mmister be discreet, he 
will suffer silently, and take it as a punishment due. 
The respectability of a parish is a pastor's respectabi- 
lity ; its disgrace is his. It is always a bad sign when 
he loudly complains of misconduct among members 
of his flock, and parades their shortcomings unneces- 
sarily, or even with a certain satisfaction, as if they 
accounted for and excused his own want of success. 
He may indeed privately lament over these matters to 
an intimate friend, or lay them before God in secret 
prayer ; but if he holds up his people to obloquy, he 
must be content to share it. Even in the pulpit a cen- 
sorious tone is not permissible. The minister must con- 
tent himself with anxiously beseeching his hearers to 
remember the things that make for their peace. He 
who gives out people worse than they are, will never 
get them to be better. No servant and no child was 
ever yet improved by scolding, still less a congregation. 
A pastor who has a good deal of intercourse with 
school children, and closely obsen^es the character 
of people, will soon find out who in the village are 
thieves ; and it is his part to seek to convince each 
individual of his transgression, and to convert him 
therefrom. It is impossible to lay too much stress 
upon the Eighth Commandment in talking to the 
children, or indeed to make it too often the subject 
of one's discourse. Theft is perhaps, in itself, no 
more sinful than other breaches of the Command- 
ments, but it deadens the conscience, and degrades 



1 4 2 My Min isteria I Exp 



erzences, 

the character more than any other ; to which I may 
add, that it is a sin that is pecuharly hereditar}^ "We 
may almost confidently assmiie that where the parents 
were dishonest, the children will prove so too. Even 
drunkenness does not run in families to such an ex- 
tent. I once had a very smart young girl in my con- 
firmation class who came of a thieving stock, and I 
am sure the child sincerely strove against her natural 
tendency. For a time she was successful, but at 
length she fell, and then she went on till she got into 
prison like the rest of her race. The higher orders, 
who so readily and carelessly break the Fourth Com- 
mandment, themselves diminish, by so doing, the 
stringency of God's Word upon the general consci- 
ence, and aiford to others a precedent for not taking 
the Eighth Commandment either in a literal sense. 
The habit of arguing that the Fourth Commandment 
belonged to the Ceremonial Law, and is no longer 
to limit personal liberty, cannot pervade a people 
without undermining the authority of the other com- 
mandments as well. If there are large parties at the 
hall on Sunday, and the servants are kept hard at 
work, or if, instead of attending church, the family 
drive about the neighbourhood, they cannot wonder 
that the reverence due to their position should decline. 
A pastor, who was veiy fond of card-playing once 
brought up a labourer before the magistrate for hav- 
ing hoed his potatoes during the hours of divine 
service, and the man was fined. Meanwhile the 



Day-Labourers, 143 

pastor sat and played at omhre with the agent and 
the bailiff. The labourer, on his part, begged to know 
whether it was lawful to play at cards on Sunday, and 
finally declared that he would not pay his fine unless 
the pastor did the same, or proved out of the Bible 
that you might play cards on Sunday, — an act he con- 
sidered far less useful and justifiable than potato- 
hoeing. Indeed it is a great hardship for the poor 
man to be forbidden to work on Sunday, while the 
rich may amuse themselves in a way that amounts to 
a breach of observance of it. Again, the poor may 
not do what is useful, but public-houses and dancing- 
rooms are thrown open to him more widely than on 
any other day. Such things embitter the poor ; the 
logic of them is too subtle for their comprehension. 
If the pastor drives off to the hall to spend the Sun- 
day afternoon, and meet the whole neighbourhood 
there, he should hold his peace if the poor man 
spends the same time in hoeing his potatoes. My 
own experience convinces me that little good is done 
by bringing these matters under the notice of the 
authorities. There is no more infallible way of win- 
ning the respect and regard of the working classes, 
than having a genuine fear of God in one's own heart. 
A young steward, who came of a pious family, was in 
the habit, whenever he heard the church bell ring, of 
taking off his cap, and holding it a while before his 
face ; he never swore, never stormed, and the people 
took pleasure in noticing this, and grew really fond 



1 44 My Ministerial Experiences. 

of him. A labourer's wife once told me, with much 
thankfulness, that while she was a farm -servant, her 
mistress not only kept her to her work, but often took 
her aside, and affectionately admonished her to walk 
honestly and chastely in God's sight. The pastor 
must address his advice and entreaties to the heads 
of families, and implore them to deal faithfully with 
the strangers that are in their house, and make it as 
much as possible a home to them. To be loved is 
an imperative need of the human heart, and he who 
supplies it shall not lose his reward. The poor lad 
and the poor girl who have to serve for their bread, 
are children of poor parents, who have fed and clothed 
them by the sweat of their brow, and we should re- 
member that they claim our sympathy, that they are 
not to be treated as mere working machines for 
whom their just wages are enough, but they must find 
something like parental feeling in our hearts. If the 
community at large learns the forgotten lesson of 
honouring those in authority, according to the divine 
command, the day-labourers will not be behind the 
rest. The steps that lead onward to this goal are 
sometimes hard to take, but we must not grow faint 
and weary. True we have all wandered and strayed 
far in this particular, and therefore our repentance 
must be deep and thorough ; and if we cannot accom- 
plish much at once, we must be contented with little. 
Above all, let no pastor expect any improvement 
to be brought about by merely laying down general 



Day-L abourers. 145 

rules. The Lord requires faithfuhuss from his ser- 
vants, and his promises belong to such as are faith- 
ful, and to no others. 

Another way of becoming acquainted with day- 
labourers, and an easier one than to visit them indi- 
vidually, is to establish an evening service, especially 
in the winter. In my first parish evening services 
were unheard-of things, and I much regret that for 
some time I neglected to hold one, partly because 1 
had not courage for such an innovation, and partly 
because I had reason to suppose that the superinten- 
dent would raise an outcry against it. I might indeed 
have had prayer-meetings in my house ; but as it was, 
I was reputed to be a Pietist, and looked upon with 
suspicion in many quarters. I knew that the police 
always kept an eye upon members of the conventicle; 
and that a minister should take part with such, or 
have them in his house, was a thing unheard of in 
the district. Now my natural timidity disinclined 
me for introducing novelties ; and again I was de- 
ficient in- those spiritual experiences which seemed 
to me, from my slight knowledge of such prayer-meet- 
ings, to be essential to holding them. I will relate 
a circumstance which had favourable results, and 
might indeed have set me on the right track — only 
new ideas are difficult to seize, and still more difficult 
to carry out. On the last evening of the old year I 
was walking up and down before my own door, and, 
according to a long-established custom, men, women, 

K 



1 46 My Ministerial Experiences. 

and children were assembling to spend the evening 
in the public-house, which was near the parsonage, 
and also, strange to say, actually under the same roof 
as the school-room and the sacristan's dwelling. The 
sacristan, who was also at his door, called out '■ good 
evening' to me. I went up to him, and he began to 
complain of the wretched night that this, the last of 
the year, always proved to him, the uproar being such 
that he had not a chance of sleeping. I pondered 
what could be done to remedy the evil ; then, struck by 
a sudden idea, exclaimed, ' We will put an end to it : 
open the church, and at once begin to ring the bell.' 
The sacristan was a little nervous at the notion, but 
he however complied, and I took measures for the 
speedy lighting up of the building. As soon as the 
bell was heard, the people came pouring out of the 
public-house and their own homes with the inquiry, 
* Where is the fire?' for they believed it to be an 
alarum. However, it soon got circulated, — and the 
lighted church confirmed it, — that service was about 
to be held. I put on my gown in haste ; but the 
sacristan came to tell me that the patron, who lived 
close by, was much displeased, had found great fault, 
and wanted to speak to me. I went at once and 
tried to conciliate him, but in vain, and he threatened 
me with all manner of evil consequences. Meanwhile 
the church had rapidly filled. I gave out the first 
line of a familiar hymn, and the voices swelled so 
loud that they reached the patron's house, and his 



Day -Labourers. 147 

wife and all the servants came. I addressed the con- 
gregation from the altar upon the subject of Simeon's 
departing in peace, and asked whether the old year 
was to close with all its sins and without repentance. 
The effect was evidently good ; only two returned to 
the pubhc-house, the others all went home, and at- 
tended church the next day. Since that time the 
year has been closed in this manner not only in my 
parish but in many of the villages around ; but I did 
not proceed to establish regular evening services, and 
I believe I lost much in consequence. Now, however, 
such services, as well as Bible and prayer meetings, 
are widely extended, if only they were invariably held 
in the proper way ! 

THE PARSONAGE. 

In the centre of the village stands the church, with 
its steeple, surrounded by the churchyard ; and near 
the churchyard wall, on one side, you will see the 
parsonage ; on the other, the school. Such is the 
long-established order. The village consist of two 
long rows of dwelHngs ; the farm-house recedes a 
little ; it is entered through a court-yard, and faces 
its bams and stables, so that the farmer can over- 
look his affairs from the window. A high hedge 
fences off this court-yard from the street. In many 
old farm-houses, the stable is under the same roof 
as the house, for fine horses are the farmer's glory, 
and in olden times they were especially cared for. 



148 Aly Alinisteria I Experiences. 

The street widens out where the church stands, so 
that it is a conspicuous object to all who enter the 
village. Generally the churchyard is higher than the 
street, so that the walls are externally very high, inter- 
nally not so. Over the way stands the manor-house, sur- 
rounded by more extensive and complete fann-build- 
ings than the farmer's dwelling. But the church, with 
its steeple, is the highest edifice in the village ; and the 
great lime or elm tree beside it, is as old as itself, and 
has all sorts of legends and histories connected with it. 

This order of things has sprung up quite spon- 
taneously, and yet when one comes to consider it, what 
a deep significance it has. The kingdom of God is 
the centre of life ; the church may well, therefore, 
occupy the centre of the village. In the dwellings 
round are care and toil ; too often sorrow and sick- 
ness ; in the church there is only peace and rest. In 
those cottages we find strangers and pilgrims, but 
their Father's house is not far from their door ; and 
on Sundays the poor children gather there, and their 
Father speaks kindly to them, comforts and admo- 
nishes them not to lose their way in the desert, but 
to bethink them of their home. All day long the 
steeple stands pointing above, that men may not get 
absorbed in their earthly occupations, and forget their 
high destiny. The clock reminds all of the flight of 
time, and cries, ' Remember thy latter end ; it is 
high time to awake out of sleep !' The vane, blown 
hither and thither by the wind, tells of the changes 



The Parsonage. ■ 1 49 

and chances of this mortal life. The cock on its 
summit crows aloud when sin weighs on the con- 
science, and the tempter draws near. The bells 
ring out three times a day to call the labouring to 
prayer, and the old fold their hands, and hear a 
voice that proclaims, ' Eleven has struck ; it will soon 
be time to rest.' A village without a church and 
steeple seems incomplete indeed. 

Of late, people have left off burying in the church- 
yard, and have placed the cemetery outside the village. 
This may be necessary in a few cases, but it has not 
so pleasing an effect. It is not well to pass at once 
from the street into the church. The high-arched 
gateway leading into the churchyard opens only to 
admit a funeral train ; the little door near it serves 
for the living. It is an impressive and touching 
thought that the dead lie around the church, and 
that, when the grave has closed over their kindred, 
the mourners go at once into the house of the Lord, 
not only to learn lessons of resignation, but to be re- 
minded that the Lord is risen indeed, and that our 
sorrow is not like the sorrow of those who have no 
hope. He who goes to church passes the graves 
of his loved ones, and his feet tread upon the dust 
of his forefathers. All this tends to open his heart 
to God's word. At the chapel-of-ease in my district, 
the people used to sit about on the graves, and wait 
there till the pastor came. It was edifying to see 
the silent or quietly-conversing congregation patiently 



1 50 jWjf Ministerial Experiences, 

assembled there. The bells call loudly ' Come, for 
all things are ready !' The village is filled anew, and 
every one, dressed in Sunday attire, passes through 
the little door, and over the graves, into the house 
of God. Garlands and wreaths are hung up inside 
it, memorials of those who sleep without, and they 
preach of Him who has overcome death. In the 
evening, indeed, when it grows dark, people in gene- 
ral are not very fond of passing through the church- 
yard alone, for they know that the slumbering dead 
do not like to be disturbed ; but the pastor and the 
sacristan have no such fear, for they are the servants 
of Him to whom darkness and light are both alike. 
In the evening, too, the birds fly to the steeple, and 
they build their nests in the interstices of its stones. 
The stork delights to pace the long roof of the church, 
and looks proudly down upon human stir and bustle. 
It is said, that when he first comes, bringing us the 
spring, he always flies round the steeple before he 
visits his nest ; and when the crows circle round and 
round it, every child knows that the morrow will be 
stormy. Then the inscriptions on the crosses, and 
the shields on the tombs, are of special interest to 
all. Those who hold high positions in the village 
have a railing round their grave, and buy an iron 
cross; but the majority are content to leave theirs 
to the skill of the village carpenter, who also executes 
the inscription that they have chosen ; some simple 
Bible text, or a beautiful verse of an old hymn. The 



The Parsonage. 151 

nobles have their vaults, in which, through the grat- 
ing, you can see the row of handsome coffins. But 
such is the nature of the inscriptions in some church- 
yards, that it would be well if the Consistory would 
interfere to prevent the desecration of the resting- 
place, by rationalistic or merely sentimental epitaphs. 
The farmer learns to believe that he is an educated 
man, if only he has similar new-fangled nonsense 
carved upon his family tomb ! 

Next to the church comes, as we have said, the 
parsonage. The study-window looks out upon the 
churchyard ; and if the pastor wants to see the steeple 
near, he must raise his head and eyes higher than 
other people need ; the bell that summons to prayer 
has, too, a louder voice for him than for the rest of 
the inhabitants, and the graves speak in deeper tones 
to his ear. The parsonage garden runs along the 
churchyard wall, and a door opens out of it to the 
bench under the old lime-tree, from which one can 
overlook both sides of the village. Each one who 
passes up and down the street has an undying soul, 
and of each one the pastor must give account, as 
to whether he has sought, urged, and allured as a 
good shepherd should. On that bench, under the 
lime-tree, how much silent intercession must, indeed, 
be poured out ! Nor is this intercession all. The 
Lord said unto Moses, ' Wherefore criest thou unto 
me ] Speak to the people, that they go forward.' 

Outwardly, the parsonage is a house like others ; 



1 5 2 My Mhiisterial Experiences, 

but whenever the devil goes about the village, seek- 
ing his prey, and planning where best he can spread 
his net, he goes about the parsonage thrice, and 
looks into every window ; and most of all, he rejoices 
if the door of that house be open to him, and he 
can not only make his way in accidentally, but rule 
there, and even hold his ground in the study, with- 
out being annoyed by prayer and the reading of the 
Scriptures. Watching and praying are the only bolts 
this thief fears. A parsonage is a house of prayer or 
a very den of iniquity. There is no peace, indeed, 
for any of the ungodly; but a minister who lives 
without aspiration and endeavour is the poorest and 
most miserable man in the whole village. Poets are 
fond of describing the parsonage as the ver)^ abode of 
peace. Ideals are fair, but they are not often realized. 
Be this as it may, the farmer and the day-labourer 
always enter the parsonage with a certain degree of 
respect, and in their best coat ; and they expect, be- 
sides matters of business, to hear some word in sea- 
son, some speech seasoned with the salt no disciple 
should ever lack. The parsonage should set its 
seal on the sermon ; it should be the practical com- 
mentaiy on the gospel. But, alas ! too often we 
have a hero in the pulpit, strong to admonish and 
console others, but in his own house the while a 
mere coward. In the church, indeed, he can show 
others how to do great things ; but he himself will 
not shoulder the burden or wield the sword. These 



The Parsonage. 153 

things the flock are quick to discern. Some infer 
that all that they hear from the pulpit is not to be 
literally understood, and others think of the proverb, 
' Do as I say, not as I do.' In short, the parsonage 
is the most public place in the whole village; no other 
house is half so much talked about. Just as people 
are proud of a handsome steeple or a good set of 
bells, they are proud of boasting of their pastor ; that 
he is a powerful preacher, or a learned man : or that 
he is afraid of no one, but knows how to hold a tight 
hand, especially over the young. I remember hearing 
it told of an old minister, who was sincerely beloved 
and honoured, that whenever he went through the 
village on Sunday evenings, he always carried a 
riding-whip in his pocket, and that once he had 
whipped the bailiff's eldest son, who had been im- 
pertinent to his mother, till the lad was glad to get 
off by repeating the fourth commandment on his 
knees before him. 

The true founder of the parsonage was Luther, 
and therefore the fundamental principle that stirred 
Luther's soul, brought about the Reformation, and 
restored to the pastor liberty to take to himself a 
wife, must hold sway and have its manifestation 
there. This great principle is that of justification by 
faith. This justification presupposes repentance, is 
laid hold of by believing, and proved by sanctifica- 
tion. In short, repentance, faith, and holiness are 
the three pillars that uphold the roof beneath which 



154 My Ministerial Experiences, . 

the peace of God abides. A foolish man builds his 
house upon the sand, a wise man upon the rock. 
God's word is that rock, and the effect of that word 
is to awaken men to repentance, to constrain them 
to believe, and to enable them to be holy. Repe7itance 
is the fruitful mother of domestic virtues : it insures 
patience towards men, because it craves patience 
from God ; it makes us tolerant, because it reveals 
the sins of our own heart ; it makes us cautious, be- 
cause it teaches the difficulty of self-conquest; it 
makes us humble, because it shows us the beam in 
our own eye, while before we only saw the mote in our 
brother's. Faith helps us to bear the trials and dis- 
tresses of life, because, being consciously the chil- 
dren of God, we cannot let our spirits be absorbed 
by trifles; it makes us joyful, because possessing the 
grace of God ; placable and kindly, because for- 
given, and glad beholders of the Lord's reconciled 
countenance. SanctiJicatio7i is the guardian of the 
home ; it urges us to follow after increased peace ; 
makes us careful to maintain the unity of the spirit in 
the bond of love, the greatest of all the Christian vir- 
tues. Peace will not abide in any human dwelling, 
because it is well built, well furnished, and plenteously 
stored. Misery may be as intense in a palace as 
in a cottage, and the children of God as happy in a 
cottage as they would be in a palace. The cold 
wind of self-righteousness, the frost of vanity and 
worldliness, and the unrest and disunion of evil 



The Parsonage. 155 

tempers, are not to be banished by any amount of 
external splendour. Repentance, faith, and holiness 
are the fairest of all adornments, and the angels of 
God hover round lovingly wherever these are, and 
sing their heavenly song of ' Peace on earth.' 

Nevertheless, no man, and consequently no mini- 
ster, has ever been promised perfect happiness on 
earth. All true Christians must still be cross-bearers. 
' He that will be my disciple, let him take up his 
cross,' saith the Lord, ' and follow after me.' The 
whole of Scripture proves that God's children never 
yet were without tribulation here below. It is 
through much tribulation, indeed, that we enter His 
kingdom : they who do not share in it are bastards, 
not children ; and the chastising of the Lord is no 
proof of his wrath, but his love. What would the 
minister become if he led a life of mere comfort in a 
home where the cross, with all its various shapes 
and hues, had no place % His heart would grow 
dull and dead as stagnant water ; his preaching 
would be barren and empty ; his prayers would lack 
all unction and intensity. As it is, whenever the 
rest of the house is shaken, when the wind blows, 
or the waters rise, or the thunder-rain falls, the pas- 
tor must have his closet where he can be alone with 
God and his cross ; some place apart which is only 
entered by those who wish to speak to him on spiri- 
tual themes. This room, in an especial sense, is the 
parsonage. Let the minister's wife arrange all the 



156 My Ministerial Experiences. 

rest of the house accordmg to her own taste ; the 
study must have nothing to do with domestic busi- 
ness or social visiting. Oratio^ tentatio, ineditatio 
faciunt theologum : that is the answer as to all in- 
quiries of how the pastor spends his time in his 
study. The oratio has a wide sphere, and includes 
every want, every desire of the whole congregation ; 
and the tentatio applies to the whole world of tlie 
heart, and to all life's experiences, varied as these 
are ; therefore the meditatio should not be limited 
to mere fragments of the sacred book, chosen as 
detached texts for sermons. The oratio and te?ztatio 
are dependent upon the meditatio; and the latter 
is dead and unfruitful without them. This ?neditatio 
must not be confounded with a cursory reading of 
the Bible, or even with exegetical study, though I 
would here remark, that the improvement in the 
tone of our exegetical works is a favourable sign of 
the times. Genuine meditation must be learned 
from the Virgin Mary, of whom we are told that she 
'kept these sayings in her heart' The writings of 
Lange, Starke, and Bengel all bear the impress of 
much meditation, and it is this that makes them so 
valuable. Day by day the pastor must absorb him- 
self in the divine word ; and this not merely by fits 
and starts : it must be the result of real eftbrt, and 
employ no small portion of his time. One hears 
many sermons which display logical and acute exe- 
gesis indeed, but have evidently not sprung from 



The Parsonage. 157 

any serious meditation. Friday and Saturday may 
be set aside for studying the sermon ; but meditation 
should pervade the week. It is not possible to lay 
down positive rules for the employment of the pas- 
tor's time ; but, whatever happens, he must leave 
himself enough for meditation. If he takes to amus- 
ing himself with light literature in his study, or de- 
votes himself to the care of his garden and land, 
he will rapidly deteriorate. But yet he may actively 
follow some favourite course of study or science ; 
and, above all, he must keep himself up to the 
occurrences of the day. The walks to the school, 
and indeed any solitary walk, will generally prove 
friendly to meditation. And we would recommend 
the pastor to go often alone into the empty church, 
and seat himself v/here this or that member of his 
congregation is accustomed to sit, and silently con- 
template the pulpit and the altar, and listen to what 
the funeral wreaths upon the walls have to say. 
Although the people at large have given up the right 
of going ^t any time into the open church, the pastor 
must not forget that it is written of it, ' My eyes 
and my heart shall be on it continually.' An empty 
church, especially if it be an old one, is a very in- 
structive place. I knew a nobleman who built a 
mausoleum close to the church, had it made light 
and cheerful, and a comfortable chair carried into it ; 
and there he often went to sit alone, with the coffins of 
his forefathers, and feed his soul with thoughts of home. 



158 My Ministerial Experiences, 

But the prevalent spirit in the parsonage will, in 
point of fact, depend, secretly indeed but mainly, 
upon what manner of spirit the pastor's wife is of. 
The Reformation, as we have said, restored to the 
parish priest the right of leading a married life. This 
the Catholic Church altogether prohibited, this the 
Evangehcal Church permits, though she does not 
enjoin it ; but be that as it may, it has come to this, 
that you can hardly imagine a countiy parsonage 
without a mistress. Indeed, students and candidates 
often think of marrying before they have a prospect of 
a cure. Much has been written and spoken against 
these premature engagements, but I too well know 
that it has been in vain. Those whom we would 
warn do not hear or read the counsel, and if they did, 
they would not act upon it, for man is seldom made 
wise by the experience of others. It is, however, a 
lamentable thing enough an engagement of years to 
an unplaced candidate, the poor bride-elect grows 
old and spirit-broken ; her betrothed resorts to many 
and many a humiliating expedient on the chance of 
obtaining a living, and his disappointed hopes em- 
bitter him against patrons and authorities, and too 
often against the providence of God. In fact, these 
engagements have become themes for general ridicule. 
There are candidates who have had to wait six, seven, 
ten years, nay, I knew one who had been engaged 
five-and-twenty years. At last*he got a cure. For 
years the betrothed pair had not met. Each had 



The Parsonage. 159 

grown white-headed, and marvelled at the change 
time had made in the other. It often happens that 
these imprudent engagements have to be given up, 
and then come heart-wounds, hard to heal and apt 
to break out again. Sensible parents cannot indeed 
prevent their daughters from falling in love, but they 
will not give their consent to a formal engagement 
unless there is some prospect of a marriage. A 
candidate who falls into a habit of love-making, and 
contracts one attachment after another, is not fit to 
have any house of his own, least of all a parsonage, 
and patrons should be slow to appoint him even if 
the engaged lady herself comes forward to plead the 
cause. 

I am well aware that good advice as to the selec- 
tion of a wife is generally a useless thing, only appre- 
ciated by those acknowledge its wisdom too late. 
We must take life as it is, not as it might and ought 
to be. There are ministers' wives who are the orna- 
ment of their home, and the helpmeet of their hus- 
bands ; there are others who hang like a black cloud 
over the house, and choke out all peace and joy. 
Under all circumstances, the pastor has his study, 
and woe be to him if he give up that last stronghold. 
There are ministers' wives, thank God, who are meek 
and pious, but there are quarrelsome, gossiping, 
covetous, and inquisitive ones as well. Nor can a 
pastor give his wife a new heart ; no man may redeem 
his brother, or make an agreement with God for him. 



i6o My Ministerial Experiences, 

I have no intention of painting an ideal parsonage, 
such as is rarely if ever found. I only intend to lay 
down a few conditions that are universally essential; 

A parsonage must in no case be without family 
prayer and grace before meat, nor must any practice 
be allowed there which gives offence to pious people, 
as for instance card-playing, or dancing, or dinner-par- 
ties, or worldly entertainments of any kind. As to the 
manner of conducting family worship, that must neces- 
sarily vary ; if no one can lead a hymn it cannot be 
helped, but if the pastor's wife be musical, it is de- 
cidedly better. There should be prayer, reading, and 
singing, and the whole should occupy from ten 
minutes to a quarter of an hour. The minister's wife, 
on whom lies the burden of the family, is the best 
judge of the best time for family worship, and it is 
her part to remind her household and her children, 
and gather them together without inconvenience or 
constraint. If family prayer has been established 
from the first setting up house, there will be no diffi- 
culty about it. But if it be begun later, it will meet 
with more obstacles than might be supposed, especially 
if the mistress of the household do not look upon it 
as a sacred duty, but a merely optional matter. In 
the latter case, sick children or babies, or the work 
the servants are engaged in, or some excuse or other, 
will always be pleaded for giving it up just this 
once, and if once family worship fall through, the rule 
broken is not easily restored. Yet if the pastor can- 



The Parsonage. 1 6 1 

not manage his own household, how shall he control 
the congregation ? That rationalistic pastors, learned 
and refined disciples of Schleiermacher, should go on 
without family prayer is intelligible enough, but that 
a minister should exhort his flock to perform a duty 
he himself neglects, does, I own, surprise me. If it 
be urged that each individual can pray for himself, it 
is the same line of argument as that which justifies 
giving up church-going, because God can be wor- 
shipped at home. Doubtless he can be, but whether 
he is so is exceedingly doubtful. 

In the course of my first year of office in my 
second cure I once preached on the subject of family 
prayer, and after the sermon an old man, who had a 
habit of calling everybody thou, came up to me, and 
said, ' Thou art quite right ; so long as there is no 
family prayer and no saying grace, no good is done ; 
thou must repeat thy sermon till folk begin.' I took 
his advice, and adducing it as a reason for so un- 
wonted a step, I preached that sermon five times 
with but few alterations, and after that the old man 
came again and said, * Now thou mayest leave it 
off; five famiUes have begun.' The families that 
assemble for worship at home are always the most 
regular in their attendance at church. Each head of a 
house who wishes to be king must also be priest there, 
else the alternative will be mere ruling by fear or 
utter disorder and insubordination, and the one is as 
bad as the other. Again, the pastor must on no ac- 

L 



1 62 My Ministerial Experiences. 

count scold and bluster, nor should he allow his wife 
to do so \ but there lies a wonderful powej in mutual 
prayer, and if the servants see that their master and 
mistress honour the Lord, they will honour them, and 
all will go well ; whereas without family prayer the 
parsonage will inevitably go to spiritual rack and ruin. 
The education of their children is another point to 
which the minister and his wife must pay especial at- 
tention. It is a miserable thing that the pastor's sons 
should be the wildest and most unmanageable in the 
whole village, and his daughters dressy, proud, and 
frivolous. God's word requires that all children should 
be obedient to their parents, the pastor's children 
should especially be so. He is not responsible for their 
conversion or faith, but he certainly is for their obedi- 
ence. That is a very morbid pietism which insists upon 
certain religious formulas being employed by children ; 
too often they rest content with this mere semblance 
of piety, and this gives rise to all manner of evil. 
We are apt to speak contemptuously of boarding- 
schools in which young ladies are taught deportment 
— broken in, like young sporting dogs, to special airs 
and graces ; but this sort of breaking in in religion 
leads only to hypocrisy, which is far worse than a 
worldly tone. True education imphes the leading 
away from sin and to Christ, and the best culture is 
that which tends to restore the divine image lost. In 
this sense a servant may be highly educated and cul- 
tivated, and education which does not keep this aim 



The Parsonage. 163 

in view results in self-love or bondage to human opin- 
ion. When John the Baptist said, ' He must increase, 
but I must decrease,' he expressed the fundamental 
principle of education. The parental influence will 
gradually decrease ; but it must be the Lord, not the 
flesh, not the unrenewed nature, that increases. The 
only rational education is that by which the fear and 
love of God are fostered in the hearts of children, and 
the goal aimed at must be their conviction that when 
their father's eye is not upon them God's eye is, and 
that where their father's hand cannot protect them the 
Lord is near. Mere secular education will always have 
most inadequate results, for knowledge puffeth up, and 
affords no shield against temptation, no resistance to 
natural defects. Above all things, the prayers of the 
parent must follow and sustain the child. 

While the children are still young they naturally 
learn reading and Bible history from their mother, who 
devotes to them the time that domestic affairs leave 
free. Later, their father will take up their education in 
so far as his professional duties, which must remain 
paramount, allow him ; and if he be a country pastor 
he will find plenty of unoccupied time, if only he 
know how to make the most of the same. But let 
him remember that it requires far more patience to 
teach one's own children than those of strangers, 
because it is a trial to one's vanity to have them turn 
out dull and incapable. We must not forget the 
apostle's warning, ' Fathers, provoke not your chil- 



1 64 My Ministerial Experiences. 

dren to wrath, lest they be discouraged.' If circum- 
stances permit, it will be desirable to send the boys 
to a pubhc school, but I consider it a very hazardous 
thing to trust one's girls to the boarding school, where 
they will be brought up fashionably, and will perhaps 
learn to look down upon their mothers, and to despise 
all domestic avocations. Many a sweet girl has come 
back utterly spoiled by her town education, to find 
herself the victim of ennui in the quiet parsonage, 
and to offend the village people by her cold de- 
meanour and fine-lady airs. At all events it is a 
dangerous measure, and many a pastor has bitterly 
regretted it. A young girl brought up in the country, 
and in the retirement of a pious home, is like a flower, 
still pearled with morning dew. But under the 
forcing-glass of the boarding school these fresh dew- 
drops are dried up, and the delicate early bloom 
rubbed away. Not many days since I found, in some 
old diaries of mine, a rather long essay that I wrote 
on the education of daughters, when God gave me 
my first little girl, and I re-read it with considerable 
interest because the system advocated was the one I 
subsequently pursued. But the Lord soon took the 
child, by whose cradle I then wrote, to his own 
school. The little thing had not the slightest fear of 
tleath ; nay, she was as delighted with the idea of 
dying as children are with the prospect of travelling, 
and seeing new and beautiful things. A short time 
before the end, after a severe attack of cramp, she 



The Parsonage \ 6 5 

said, in a clear voice, ' Father, am I dead now V and 
when I replied, 'Not yet, my darling;' she went on, 
'I see bright angels, with wings, dressed in white 
with red sashes !' and the next moment she was gone. 
This child had a pecuhar love for our servant-man ; 
and as I moved to the window after all was over 
(it was then four o'clock in the morning), the man 
came running out of the stable in his shirt, and 
asked me, in an agitated manner, whether Anna was 
dead? When I told him that she was, he wept 
bitterly, and declared positively that she had just 
stroked his cheeks with her cold hand and kissed 
him, as she was wont to do, and nothing could ever 
persuade him that this had not really happened. At 
the present time I often seem to see that child standing 
waiting at heaven's gate, in white raiment, wearing a 
little crown, and lovelier far than when she was on 
earth. It is a beautiful thing to have one or more 
children already with the Lord. When we bury a 
child we must seek to bury some portion of our 
natural man in the same grave, and then we shall be 
the more easily comforted. 

This subject of education is closely connected with 
another of great importance, the training of our ser- 
vants. There are two facts which should never be 
forgotten in a Christian household, least of all in the 
parsonage. First, that children and servants are sub- 
ject to the bondage of original sin ; and secondly, that, 
in virtue of holy baptism, they are the children of God. 



i66 My Ministerial Experiences, 

The first thought begets the patience needed to bear 
with weaknesses and offences, and from the second 
springs the deep reverence with which we must regard 
the very least of those whom God has accepted, and 
the care to avoid offending one of them, since the 
Lord is the avenger of all such, and will not suffer any- 
thing done to his little ones to remain unrewarded, 
whether it be good or bad, but will reckon with it 
as done unto himself He who wraps himself in his 
self-righteousness and never thinks of his own sins, is 
easily induced to be impatient and severe ; he who 
does not see the beam in his own eye, sees the motes 
in his brother's as large as beams. Above all, we 
must be careful never to impute bad feelings and 
unworthy motives to children or servants ; this is sure 
to injure their moral tone. He who is always treated 
like a thief, always looked at suspiciously, becomes a 
thief at length. Again, we must cautiously avoid lay- 
ing down general rules for servants or children. To 
enforce or forbid anything once for all is easily said 
and done, but it works very ill, and when once the 
phrase, ' I have told you that ten times,' comes into 
use, patience is over, and the temper gets soured. 
We must lay down as few rules as possible, and leave 
a wide scope to free action and individual sense of 
responsibility. Our great coadjutor must be the 
force of habit, while we deal singly with every single 
fault, we must always deal in the same way; the 
same result must always succeed the same course of 



The Parsonage. 167 

action, and when once children and servants find out 
this inevitable sequence, they will learn to avoid the 
first link in the chain. A judicious mistress must 
praise far more than she blames, must commend the 
thing that is once well done, far more than she cen- 
sures what happens once in a way to be done ill. 
Laying down many rules is a course prolific of 
offences and unkind feeling : there is no law give?i that 
ca?i give life. The pastor must never forget that he 
is a disciple of Him who bore the sins of the whole 
world, and then his own forbearance will not fail. I 
hold it to be a wrong thing for him to send his ser- 
vants away ; let him take every precaution before he 
engage them, but when once that is done, the tie 
should not be lightly broken. It is to the credit 
of the parsonage that the man-servant and maid- 
servant should remain there till they can set up a 
house of their own. Respectable people should have 
reason to look upon service at the parsonage as an 
honourable distinction for their children, and these 
on their part should feel that they have a character 
to sustain. 

The pastor must constantly remember that he is not 
only a householder and a father, but a shepherd of 
the flock, and that he belongs to that whole flock, and 
is responsible to it. First comes the sacred calling, 
then family ties. A really good minister's wife must 
clearly understand that her husband does not belong 
to her exclusively, but that he was wedded to the 



1 6 8 My Ministerial Experiences. 

parish before he was wedded to her. Consequent!}?, 
she must beware of intruding into his professional 
secrets and anxieties. She must open no letter that 
is addressed to her husband ; nay, she must not wish 
to read every letter that he receives. She has nothing 
to do with the conversations that go on in the study. 
It is most undesirable that the parsonage should be 
the centre of village gossip. The congregation must 
have reason to believe their pastor a truly reticent 
man, who will not readily discuss seeming indifferent 
matters that concern his people even with the sacristan, 
when driving together to the chapel-of ease, or meet- 
ing in the churchyard of an evening. The minister's 
wife must keep household annoyances as much as 
possible out of her husband's sight, instead of irritating 
him by her complaints ; but, on the other hand, she 
must not be painfully anxious as to his over-working 
himself, nor must she pamper his appetite too much. 
The old Adam within us bears nothing worse than 
over-cherishing. This renders the body indolent and 
torpid ; the more we give in to it, the more exacting 
it becomes. The body is a servant which must be 
strenuously kept up to its work. He who wears him- 
self out in his sacred calling is not to be pitied ; the 
Lord will provide for the widow and the children of 
one faithful unto death. As for the pastor's wife, it is 
well that she should occupy herself in the loving care of 
the sick and aged, that she should know how to make 
some good nourishing broth for lying-in women, but 



The Parsonage. 169 

she must not preach, nor trench upon her husband's 
province, nor dream of instructing him. She must not 
forget that she too is but a member of the flock. 

The internal arrangements of the household must 
be simple and neat, yet iiot so excessively neat as to 
make the farmer scrupulous about treading on the 
carpets, nor to occasion much anxiety in the lady of 
the house as to the state of the farmer's feet. It is 
very improper that the people who come to see the 
minister should have to take off their shoes before 
they enter the study. Neither is it a popular thing 
for the minister to have a bell at his door, and to 
ring up his servants as fashionable people do. A very 
worthy and faithful girl who moved with us from one 
parsonage to the other, saw the bell-rope on the wall, 
and asked what its purpose was. When she was told 
that in future she would not be called as before, but 
that the bell would summon her when wanted, she 
shook her head, and said peremptorily : ' I shall not 
allow myself to be rung for.' Neither should the pas- 
tor's servant wear livery. Nor again should the outfit 
of his bride be a gay one, even if her parents' means 
allow it. Later on in life, when expenses have in- 
creased, and the vestiges of bridal splendour are sur- 
rounded by the purchases of more needy days, the 
contrast is not unlikely to awaken discontent and 
longing for the better circumstances of yore ; and 
besides, it gives the house an incongruous and ruin- 
ous appearance. 



lyo My Ministerial Experiences, 

The question as to whether the pastor ought him- 
self to farm the glebe-lands or not, is one that has 
been often mooted and answered in various ways. In 
the time of its prosperity, the Darmstadt Ecclesi- 
astical Gazette devoted many articles to this subj ect, 
and little as I valued the paper in general, I know 
that I read them with interest, for I had to decide 
whether I should undertake the management of my 
own glebe, or continue to let it as my predecessor had 
done. There can be no doubt that those who origi- 
nally endowed the different cures considered it advis- 
able that the minister should farm his land. They 
invariably made his revenues dependent upon its 
produce, and we always find stables and barn con- 
nected with the parsonage. But we must not over- 
look the fact, that agriculture has of late years 
assumed a new and far more complicated and ex- 
pensive aspect, and that, where there is but a small 
capital to go upon, it is very difficult to farm profitably. 
The unlucky idea of encumbering the glebe with 
rent charges has partly nullified the great object of en- 
dowment, and occasioned widely spread discontent. 
There is no better means of securing the future exist- 
ence of any institution than to endow it with land, 
all other property being far more variable in value ; 
but it is a hard case that the pastor should receive half 
or a quarter of the true value of his land, while the 
bulk of it goes to his rich patron. However, the 
question we have now to deal with is this : Shall the 



The Parsonage, 1 7 1 

pastor let his glebe-lands as they now exist, or shall 
he undertake the farming of them % 

One minister looks upon it as beneath his dignity to 
trouble himself with live stock and crops ; he will not 
lead the life of a farmer, not he. Another dreads the 
care and anxiety that wait upon agricultural pursuits, 
and the irritation produced by idle, wrong-headed, 
and pilfering labourers. But nevertheless, experience 
soon teaches them that it is difficult to lead the same 
sort of life in the country as the town. Having to send 
to some distance for butcher's meat, milk, and other 
articles of daily consumption, adds to their expense ; 
ready money is often wanting, and should an un- 
expected visitor make his appearance, the mistress 
of the house does not know where to turn for a late 
dinner. Then again, there is no getting a man to crop 
the garden at the exact time he is wanted ; the one 
maid cannot get through the work of the house, and 
not a charwoman is to be had to help in the wash. 
Perhaps, indeed, the Sunday drive to the chapel-of- 
ease may be a stipulated privilege, or one of the 
farmers may let out a vehicle for a consideration, as 
the distance is not great, and the horses would other- 
wise be idle ; but if an excursion be necessary in the 
course of the week to make purchases in the neigh- 
bouring town, or to pay some visit already too long 
postponed, and the minister's wife is unable to walk, 
or the weather is bad and the roads dirty, what is to 
be done % He sends all round the village in vain ; 



r 7 2 Afv MinisteiHal Experieiices, 

this parishioner cannot, the other will not, hire out 
his horses. Sometimes there is the utmost difficulty 
in getting a load of water from the pond for the 
great wash, or a load of sand for the garden ; and 
the poor pastor groans beneath a dependence, for 
which he has to pay dearly in money or thanks. 
Even when his tenant is bound to render this kind 
of service, he often does so grumblingly enough if 
he chances to be disturbed at his own field-work, or 
to consider it quite unnecessary that a pastor should 
drive out visiting. In his despair, the latter resolves 
upon keeping horses himself; but he finds this an 
expensive luxury. The oats are the least part of it. 
Hay and straw are scarcely to be had at any price. 
The man-servant must have board and wages, and, 
worst of all, he has not enough to do : falls into bad 
ways, makes love to the maid, etc. etc. Conse- 
quently, land has to be rented to employ man and 
horses, but the necessary implements require an out- 
lay : there is no capital ; money must be borrowed ; 
the farming is carried on in a penurious spirit, and 
does not answer; neither the pastor nor his wife 
understands it ; they grow suspicious and down- 
hearted ; and after many expenses and many anxious 
hours, the farm is given up, the stock sold at a much 
reduced price, and the proceeds will not meet the debts 
which remain, as the only result of the experiment ! 
All this occasions no small talk in the parish, and the 
pastor loses in the general estimation. 



The Parsonage. 173 

Or say that the pastor, upon entering his cure, 
takes at once the management of the glebe-lands 
upon himself, his prospects are often no brighter. If 
he enter at Michaelmas, he must lose a whole year ; 
if at Easter, he must be out of pocket for six months ; 
for the glebe-land tenure runs from Michaelmas to 
Michaelmas, and the receipts fall due at Michaelmas 
and Martinmas. Then how few candidates have any 
ready money, whereas most have some college debts. 
They have, accordingly, to borrow to get through the 
first year, and ten to one the harvest, when it comes 
round, does not answer their expectations. A cow 
or a horse dies ; there must be another loan. Debts 
increase, and care v/ith them. Economy is pushed 
to the utmost, but the farm swallows up everything, 
and brings in no return. The ministry requires all 
a man's energy and self-possession; but the pastor 
is worn out by his farm, so, in despair, he throws the 
whole concern overboard, and may bless God if he 
gets out of it without any decrease of conjugal affec- 
tion. Domestic peace is best maintained when un- 
shadowed by financial anxiety. This is the great 
advantage the wealthy classes have over the poor. 
Embarrassment is the worst enemy of the home 
virtues and home affections. 

And even more propitious circumstances have their 
dangers. The old pastor with whom I spent two 
years as assistant, farmed his own land with consider- 
able success ; but yet he once said to me, ' Farming 



174 My Ministerial Experiences. 

has sunk and deteriorated my character, till I have 
looked upon my cure as a secondary thing !' In- 
deed, the danger of stooping to littlenesses, fixing 
one's heart upon one's crops, and becoming a mere 
farmer, is far greater than may be supposed. I ad- 
vise every young pastor to beware of farming, and 
to put up with a tenant at a fair rental. Another 
reason for my advice is, that farming increases the 
difficulty of giving one's children a good education. 
The mother has no time to devote to her daughters ; 
the boys are sure to become passionately fond of the 
horses, to spend much time in the stables with the 
men, hence they become boorish in mind and man- 
ners, take a dislike to their books, resolve to be 
bailiffs, and idly dream of the bliss of landed pro- 
prietors. 

But if, notwithstanding all objections, the pastor 
is bent upon farming, let him at least see that he 
does so under favourable circumstances. He must 
have means of his own, so as to begin free from debt. 
He must carefully examine his constitutional fitness 
for the task. No man, who is by nature anxious and 
desponding, should venture to farm if he has any 
hope of success, or of leading a happy life, or any 
desire to be free from earthly-mindedness. Again, 
no one should farm who has a fashionable wife, given 
to nervous symptoms, fond of late hours, preferring 
light reading to domestic avocations, having literary 
pretensions, or pretensions of any kind. Neither 



The Parsonage. 1 7 5 

must he farm if he has a wife who quarrels with her 
servants, who is hard to please, or of a greedy and 
sordid disposition. Finally, his glebe must not be at a 
great distance from the village, else all the time will 
be wasted in mere coming and going. 

And now, assuming that all circumstances what- 
soever, personal, pecuniary, and local, are favourable, 
how is the farm to be managed % I will briefly re- 
late my own experience, premising that I should 
be very sorry to mislead any by my comparative 
success. First it is essential to have some knowledge 
to begin with, gained from a careful study of practical 
works, and some fixed system to go upon. Then the 
amount of land under cultivation must neither be too 
great nor too small. Twenty acres, for instance, is too 
little ; it will only support two horses and a labourer, 
and one has all one's trouble for nothing. The keep of 
one horse is an expensive thing. If the land is good, 
wheat-growing land, from forty to sixty acres will suf- 
fice ; if not of first-rate quality eighty acres may be 
undertaken, because they will be more easily cultivated. 
Such a farm as this must be so managed as to give 
sufiftcient, but by no means excessive, work to two 
horses, a labourer, and a dairy-maid ; and for this 
purpose it should be divided into about eight sec- 
tions, and a careful rotation of crops observed : as for 
instance — i. Potatoes ; 2. Spring wheat ; 3. Clover ; 
4. Autumn wheat ; 5. Pease ; 6. Autumn wheat ; 7. 
Green crops ; 8. Wheat. Thus half the land is 



176 My Ministerial Experiences. 

always under corn, and half under green crops. This 
system insures the manuring of three portions, i, 5, 
and 7. The ground must be most thoroughly and 
carefully dug for potatoes, the succeeding crops will 
require only two ploughings. This rotation will give 
abundant food for two horses and four or five cows ; 
and when the clover and potatoes are got in, from 
forty to fifty sheep may be fattened during the winter, 
and will be found profitable in more ways than one. 
The cows must always be kept in the cow-house, and 
if they have a liberal allowance of oil-cake, together 
with clover, potatoes, and turnips, and are well looked 
after, they should yield about 3000 quarts of milk a 
head. He who feeds his cows penuriously has penu- 
rious returns, and a homoeopathic system of nourish- 
ment is always met by a homoeopathic measure of 
milk. They must never be allowed to graze, first, 
because there is not space enough for it, and also to 
avoid the hire and keep of a cow-herd. The sheep 
must be bought at Martinmas and sold again in April 
after being shorn. 

The great point of all, however, is to meet with a 
farm-servant who has intelligence and circumspection 
to understand the system as a whole, and the sense 
to see what makes for his own advantage. I gave 
my farm-servant twice as high wages as the groom at 
the hall received, besides a house rent free for his 
wife and children, and a garden ; added to which, of 
every dollar that the farm brought in he had two 



The Parsonage. 177 

groschen, and the thirteenth bushel of all the corn 
sold. If he had been twelve times to the town with 
a cart-load of produce of any kind, the thirteenth 
load was his own. He had also a percentage upon 
every pig and sheep sold, unless, indeed, he preferred 
to take the thirteenth sheep. On the other hand, 
whenever a day-labourer was wanted, he paid a third 
of the wages, as well as half the carpenter's, saddler's, 
and smith's bill, so that it was his interest to take 
good care of my property. This man found his 
place a very profitable one, and was able to lay by 
yearly. To me it was the greatest possible advantage 
to have very little to do with the farm ; his interest 
was so bound up with mine that for his own sake he 
was little likely to be wanting in honesty or activity. 
It was not necessary that I should lock up barns and 
granaries, for I knew he was thoroughly to be trusted. 
Indeed, the more unlimited the confidence reposed, 
the more freedom and responsibility conceded, the 
more a servant of this stamp prides himself upon 
fulfilling his duty, for he gets full credit for it. The 
arrangement was a little complicated just at first, but 
afterwards it worked admirably, and the returns of 
the farm far exceeded my expectations. When I 
first began, the farmers about used to shake their 
heads at my system ; but they soon took a friendly 
interest in it. Indeed, the farmer feels a certain 
complacency in his pastor having beautiful cows and 
a flourishing farm. It was evident to all that my 

M 



lyS My Ministerial Experiences, 

farm-servant had a wide scope given him, all buying 
and selling went through his hands, and it was only 
in the morning, after prayer-time, that he consulted 
me in a general way as to what was to be done. If 
I wanted the horses for a journey I always spoke to 
him beforehand, and abode by his decision, till I 
kept a third riding-horse, for whose keep I gave him 
compensation. Generally speaking we discussed 
farming matters during our drives. I do not remem- 
ber a single unpleasant word between us, we were 
always on the best of terms, and he was only out of 
sorts when the weather was unfavourable for sowing 
or reaping. 

I may here venture to make this general remark, 
that a pastor should not farm like a bailiff or a pro- 
fessional farmer, and should therefore avoid speaking 
overmuch on the subject of agriculture; rather let 
him listen intelligently to what others may have to 
say upon it. 

As to the advantages of successful farming, they 
are evident. First of all there is the greater inde- 
pendence, next the more easy supply of all domestic 
wants, and finally the very decided increase of income. 

Again, a pastor who farms is brought more ' en rap- 
porf with his flock. He has a share in their anxieties, 
labours, and disappointments, has many opportunities 
of doing them small services, has, in short, more points 
in common. Even his sermons gain in illustrations 
and analogies ; and the farmer believes in the sin- 



The Parsonage. 179 

cerity of the prayer the pastor puts up for an abun- 
dant harvest all the more when the latter has a stake 
in it ! Holy Scripture has not disdained to make 
especial reference to natural themes : our Lord 
speaks of the sower and the seed to illustrate the 
influence of his word ; points to the liUes of the 
field and the birds of the air to warn us against 
over -carefulness. The vine and the branches tell 
of the close union between himself and his people ; 
the grass and the flower proclaim the transitoriness 
of man ; and, finally, it is declared, that ' whatever 
a man soweth that shall he also reap.' The Church 
honours agriculture by her celebration of the har- 
vest-home festival, which a dweller in cities can 
hardly understand, with the joy of which he can- 
not sympathize, since he has not shared in the pre- 
vious toil. The farmer feels his dependence upon 
God more strongly than any one else, receives every- 
thing more directly from him. I take pleasure in 
recalling the days when I used to walk in my fields, 
and rejoice in God's visible and abundant blessings 
there. My farm-servant became more and more a 
member of my family ; the children loved and re- 
spected him, because he was not treated like a ser- 
vant. I will just give an instance of the terms we 
were on. One Sunday that I had to set out at four 
o'clock to preach in a distant parish, I heard him 
in the yard quarrelling with his worthy and pious 
wife; and as we sat together driving, I exhorted 



i8o My Ministerial Experiences. 

him to patience and gentleness. He replied that 
he had aheady been reproaching himself, but that 
irritability was his constitutional failing. After the 
sermon, as I was leaving the church, a rich farmer 
asked me for a certificate of baptism for his son, 
and offered me first five, then ten, then fifteen dol- 
lars, if I would make him out two years older than 
he was, in order that he might escape serving as a 
soldier. I was very angry at such an audacious 
proposal, and at length rebuked him in a loud voice. 
My old servant, who was standing at the gate, was 
listening, and, when he saw me, called out, ' Mr. 
Pastor ! Mr. Pastor ! what sort of a coat have you 
got on to-day V I looked at him in amazement, 
and asked what he meant. ' Is it not the gow7i ? ' he 
said with a quizzical air; and yet we are not beau- 
tifully patient and gentle.' I gave him my hand, 
and cried, ' Now, then, we are quits, and neither 
can reproach the other.' 

The unfortunate tendency of the present day to 
reduce social ties to a mere question of interest 
shows itself in the commuting payment in kind into 
payment by money, which is always a hard sort of 
transaction, leaving no pleasant memory behind, and 
telling injuriously upon the relationship of the pas- 
tor to his flock. Now, to a pastor who is loved 
and respected, the congregation will willingly give 
such things as eggs, sausages, butter, bread, etc. etc., 
of the best ; but one who shows himself greedy and 



The Parsonape. 1 8 1 



^t> 



discontented will get them bad enough, and, indeed, 
it is but meet that he should be punished in his most 
tender point. When the farmer's wife has dressed 
herself neatly, and goes to the parsonage with her 
gifts concealed beneath her white apron, bringing her 
choicest things, she naturally likes to be received by 
the minister's wife in the parlour, not the kitchen, 
and treated with friendliness, not condescension. 
In all probability, many of these payments in kind 
to the clergy were originally free-mil offerings, which 
became customary, and then in process of time 
compulsory; and whenever they are over- scrupu- 
lously examined or criticised, it sours the givers, 
and predisposes them to hold back as much as 
possible. It is far better to be easily pleased, and 
to receive as though it were still a free-will offer- 
ing, than to be measuring and weighing, and seeing 
whether it is quite correct. If you lose a little at 
first by this more liberal course, you will gain in 
the long-run. It is always so in life : the discon- 
tented have short measure meted to them ; to the 
grateful and easily pleased more is given than they 
have any claim to. Whether the farmer gives his 
pastor the best or second best wheat is not impor- 
tant only as a matter of profit or loss, but chiefly as 
an index of feeling. 

The word of the Lord, ' Seek first the kingdom of 
God and his righteousness, and all other things shall 
be added to you,' is spoken indeed to all, but espe- 



1 8 2 Aly Ministerial Experiences. 

cially to the minister. He who preaches God's word 
pure and undefiled, loves his flock, and is earnest in 
prayer for each one of them, can patiently bear a 
little deficiency in quantity or quality : this will 
soon right itself But it will never be cured by com- 
plaints and exactions. For many long years, in cer- 
tain parishes, the congregations have had the gospel 
dealt out to them in scanty measure, and mixed with 
much human chaff; we need not, then, wonder if 
they mete back to us in the same measure. A far- 
mer who, on one occasion, himself brought his offer- 
ing of corn to me, asked whether I would measure it 
after him ; to which I replied that, in any case, I was 
sure to be receiving too much, as he hardly ever 
came to church, and I could do next to nothing for 
him in return. He looked at me with amazement, 
and asked whether he was making a mistake in bring- 
ing it. ' Not so,' I answered ; ' but it is my duty, on 
my part, to pray and beseech you to save your soul 
alive ; and, as hitherto I have had so little oppor- 
tunity of discharging this duty towards you and your 
family, I consider that I receive too much from you.' 
This led to a longer conversation, and the conse- 
quence was, that the man was in his seat at church 
on the following Sunday. Again, it is by no means 
desirable that the fees for baptisms, marriages, etc., 
should be gathered in by the sacristan ; it is far better 
that the parishioners should themselves take them to 
their pastor. This gives an opportunity for a word in 



The Sacristan and Schoolmaster. 1 8 3 

season, and for friendly conversation ; but care must 
be taken not to cut our visitors short, or abruptly 
dismiss them. Upon one occasion, a day-labourer 
came to me to pay the fee for the baptism of his 
child. After expressing his wonder that it should 
come to so much, he proceeded to draw out of his 
purse two additional groschen, which he wished to 
give me because I had done the thing so handsomely, 
and given his wife such a good lecture. I was very 
much pleased with these two groschen, because I saw 
that the poor man wished to show me kindness. 



THE SACRISTAN AND SCHOOLMASTER. 

The sacristan, who is also the schoolmaster, is a 
very influential personage in a German village. Our 
dearest and best treasures, the children, are confided 
to him to be trained in the use of those weapons 
whereby they are to overcome the world; to have 
that seed sown in their young hearts, the fruit of 
which is to refresh them during the burden and heat 
of life's day, in the wilderness through which their 
path lies. In the former part of this book I have 
several times touched upon the relation between 
pastor and sacristan, which was indeed inevitable ; 
for the former can no more exist without the latter 
than without his shadow. In all the minister's work 
the sacristan is fellow-worker, and each may materi- 



T 84 My Ministerial Experiences. 

ally assist the other or embitter his life. For this reason 
I return once more to this important subject, not to 
promulgate any theory of my own thereupon, but to 
give my younger brethren some of my actual experi- 
ences. If any are inclined to think that I am too 
partial to the race of sacristans they are probably 
right, for I have been fortunate in my connexion with 
them. 

To begin within my first ministerial year, my old 
sacristan was my truly fatherly friend, from whom I 
learned much, and to whose memory I shall always 
be grateful. At that time candidates for the post he 
held were not, as now, obliged to spend six weeks at 
a normal school before their second examination. 
My old friend had, for his part, never seen an insti- 
tution of the kind, and was by no means partial to 
the younger schoolmasters in the neighbourhood who 
had been so trained ; indeed, I suspect that he may 
have slightly prejudiced me against them. He used 
to call them would-be professors, was much aggrieved 
by their long coats, detested their hats, and considered 
their heads equally empty. Once upon a time I paid 
a visit to a professor of this sort, and on asking him 
who his father was, received for reply that his father 
was a landed proprietor, whereas it afterwards came out 
that he was a small farmer ; also, he represented his 
brother as studying for an agency, and devoting him- 
self to the course of science requisite, which in plain 
German proved to mean that the said brother was 



The Sacristan and Schoolmaster. 185 

working as farm-servant to his father, and had been 
a short time at a seminary. Nothing made my old 
friend more furious than to hear such men speak of 
' undertaking rehgion and history,' or deprecating the 
name of sacristan, and designating themselves rather 
by that of schoolmaster, or contriving casually to 
bring in how such and such a one had addressed 
them as Mr. So-and-so. Trifles of this kind, and 
indeed the whole bearing of this class of men, were 
generally unpopular. Their duties as sacristans were 
distasteful to them, and many of them they held 
degrading to their dignity, and unbecoming their re- 
finement. Disputes of a most unpleasant nature not 
unfrequently arose between them and the clergy, 
and it became a generally received opinion that 
the normal-school teachers were an overbearing set. 
Very often they were young and inexperienced, and 
the sort of culture they had received tends to self- 
conceit. In a short time they had been crammed with 
facts rather than grounded in principles. They had 
become familiar with scientific language, and with little 
more. They had a certain expertness in the popular 
method of school-keeping ; and the pastors, who 
knew less of this modern system, were looked down 
upon, and sometimes even ridiculed by them. As 
for the special avocations of the sacristan, they pro- 
nounced them servile offices, etc. The consequence 
was that, by way of counteraction, the pastors began 
rigorously to claim, as imperative, services that had 



1 86 My Ministerial Experiences* 

been previously considered optional. The strangest 
points of difference now arose. Was the sacristan of- 
ficially bound to carry the pastor's canonicals, etc., to 
the chapel-of-ease ? to come himself to the parsonage 
on Saturday evening, for directions connected with the 
morrow's service? or might he receive them by a 
messenger or a letter % was he obliged to meet the 
minister on his arrival at the chapel-of-ease, and carry 
his carpet-bag % was he to make collections in per- 
son % to go round the village, and deliver the* invita- 
tions to funerals and weddings % was he to obtain the 
pastor's permission for every half-holiday he gave % to 
find out the hymn for the minister before the service 
began % to wear the sacristan's cloak during church- 
time, or a brown or green coat at pleasure % These 
and other questions of the kind began to be as gravely 
mooted as though the welfare of the world were at 
stake. But, in point of fact, the war was waged 
against the real or supposed presumption of the 
youthful sacristans ; and he who gave himself no 
airs came easily off. Strange how men love to push 
their claims to the utmost, and so provoke opposi- 
tion. The sacristans banded themselves together, and 
strengthened themselves in their rebellion; the pastors 
petitioned Government to take measures for their sub- 
jugation. I remember one synod in particular at a 
meeting of which very little was said on any spiritual 
theme ; but the most remarkable complaints were laid 
and plans devised for taming these refractory gentry. 



The Sacristan aiid Schoolmaster. 187 

the new-fangled sacristans. Most severe and decided 
of all in their projected measures, were those pastors 
whose own humility was somewhat questionable ; for 
each of us observes with greatest readiness that mote 
in the eye of his neighbour which is akin to the 
beam in his own. There must have been some 
ground, no doubt, for the accusation of clerical pride 
so often brought against our order ! When this synod 
was over I drove back with my dear old friend — for 
I was again fortunate in my second cure, in finding 
the sacristan a pious and judicious man — and told 
him of the schemes that had been under discussion ; 
to which he replied, in his slow and cautious way, 
' No good will be done that way ; this kind goeth not 
out but by prayer and fasting.' I pondered that 
observation, and found that the old man was per- 
fectly right. Pride and presumption are not to be 
put down by laws and rules ; their tendency is ever 
to exalt themselves above all such. The pride of the 
pastor will never conquer that of the sacristan, for 
Satan cannot cast out Satan. It is only humility that 
can overcome pride. But true humility is as rare as 
true faith. It is a strange thing that we should think 
humility so lovely in others, and yet, though we would 
gladly be loveable, follow so little after humility our- 
selves. A truly humble man goes peacefully through 
life ; but pride makes people so unwieldy that they 
are constantly knocking up against others, and every 
one feels an antagonism to them. In short, there is 



1 88 My Ministerial Experiences, 

no fault that makes our poor humanity look so lamen- 
table and laughable as pride and self-conceit. 

If, however, we calmly and candidly consider the 
antecedents of the young man who comes to fill the 
post of sacristan and schoolmaster in a country village, 
we shall own that it is but natural that he should be 
a little conceited. He has spent three years in the 
strict restraint of a seminary ; suddenly he becomes 
a gentleman at large, and is actually called Mr. So- 
and-so. He has reached this goal by much effort 
and many a self-denial. A successful examination 
always elates the old Adam within us, and his self-com- 
placency soon passes into conceit. He who vividly 
remembers his own college days, or has seen a lieu- 
tenant wearing his sword and epaulettes for the first 
time, need not wonder that the youthful schoolmaster 
should rather overrate himself He can prove in black 
and white that he is respectable and well-informed. 
The whole village treats him with deferential kind- 
ness, and more especially so those families who 
happen to have a daughter who would like to be 
sacristaness. Now, if the pastor be the only one who 
offends his self-conceit, it is but natural that he should 
not particularly appreciate the pastor. And there are 
many pastors who seem, from the very first, deter- 
mined to do all they can to humble the young man \ 
who let him stand at the study door, and lay down 
rules, and give him all manner of directions, on pur- 
pose that he may feel his dependence upon them. 



The Sacristan and Schoohnaster . 189 

But the law works only wrath, cannot give life, as we 
have more than once observed; and so the youth 
sets himself to do just so much, and no more, as may 
be positively demanded of him; and if the pastor 
encroaches, he resolutely resists him. 

At first he opens his school, and is sincerely anxious 
to manage it well ; then comes the pastor to see how 
things are going on ; and even in the way in which 
he Hstens to the schoolmaster's questions, there is 
something contemptuous ; or perhaps he interrupts 
him, and finds fault with his method in the presence 
of the children, so that they may observe his defici- 
encies. All this sours the young man. I have often 
been much touched by the manner in which, in the 
Old Testament, the Lord God condescends to woo, 
as it were, the love of his people ; if, therefore, the 
pastor be the Lord's servant, he must know how to 
woo hearts, and especially that of his sacristan. The 
devil is always rejoiced to put enmity between those 
whom God has joined together; to sow coldness and 
distrust between man and wife is one of his great 
achievements; but still greater his gain if he can 
occasion discord between the minister and the 
schoolmaster. All the pious members of the con- 
gregation lament such a state of things ; and the rest 
are sure to turn it to their own account. I must, how- 
ever, once for all, publicly declare, that I believe pastors 
are, generally speaking, more to blame in the matter 
than sacristans. I know that I shall meet with oppo- 



1 90 My Ministerial Expe^neiices, 

sition if I assert that gentleness, patience, and 
humility are the only means of managing a subordi- 
nate ; but for all that, I am convinced of the truth 
of my assertion. Some say that young people cannot 
bear this sort of treatment, and will inevitably be 
spoiled by it ; but the important question is. Hast 
thou, my clerical brother, got this genuine humility 
and love in thy own heart, for make-believe gentleness 
and kindness will not answer the purpose % ' This 
kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting ;' and 
it is well worth the pastors while to pray and fast for 
his schoolmaster's sake. 

If both pastor and schoolmaster be unconverted 
men, their disagreements may indeed give offence to 
the congregation ; but they need not be wondered at, 
since it is written, ' There is no peace to the wicked.' 
Nevertheless it does often happen that two such get on 
very well together. Either the pastor does not see, 
or winks at what he sees, and the schoolmaster is glad 
to be left alone, and able to do as he likes. In such a 
case their good understanding does even more harm 
than their enmity, since that would make each some 
sort of check upon the other. There are pastors who 
hardly take any pains at all about the schools ; visit 
the parish school once a year, and that belonging to 
the chapel-of-ease quite casually. Now, the master 
knows that it is the pastor's duty to visit both far 
more frequently; and although his staying away 
may suit him well enough, yet he talks of it, and 



The Sacristan aiid Schoolmaster, 191 

the congregation by no means approve this want 
of interest shown in their children. If the pas- 
tor only goes into the school to receive a list of 
names, and prepare the necessary reports for Go- 
vernment, it is not likely he should find much 
pleasure in it. When the school is ill-attended, the 
master often wishes the parents to be admonished 
from the pulpit ; but I do not counsel this, for gene- 
rally speaking parents who neglect this matter are 
not to be found in the church. It is far better to ex- 
press the cordial pleasure and approval that every 
case of regular attendance gives one. If there be 
need to rebuke, it is wisest to go and see the parents 
in their own home, and ascertain whether there is 
good reason for the children's absence or not. There 
are many cases which silence all censure, as, for in- 
stance, where the mother is sick, and a little girl is 
kept away from school to attend to the house, and 
carry her father his dinner into the fields, or when an 
elder brother is placed in charge of the younger ones, 
both parents being necessarily engaged. If the 
pastor consider it beneath his dignity to ascertain 
why this or that child is absent, and refers the matter 
to the civil authorities, he gives great offence to the 
parents, who consider their interference a disgrace. 
Again, special measures must be taken upon those 
occasit)ns where the children have an opportunity of 
gaining more by work during their absence than will 
suffice to pay the school fine. It is better to talk the 



192 My Ministerial Experiences, 

matter over with the master, and give a few days' 
regular holidays, than to have irregular attendance. 
If only the pastor take a genuine interest in the 
school, is the assistant of the master, not merely his 
ruler and inspector, then they will soon understand each 
other. For in point of fact the whole parish, children 
and all, are the pastor's proper care, the schoolmaster 
is his representative, and does the work the former 
could not overtake alone. Nothing can be more mis- 
taken than to look upon the schoolmaster's office as 
perfectly separate from that of the minister. At the 
baptismal font the Church undertakes the duty of 
teaching the children all that the Lord has com- 
manded us. Consequently the Christian national 
school has its origin in the rite of baptism, and its 
object is to water the seed sown in the child's heart 
by that holy sacrament. The pastor, therefore, should 
never look upon the school as an accidental adjunct 
to the Church, but rather as necessarily and insepar- 
ably united with it. Accordingly, it is his interest to be 
on thoroughly good and cordial terms with the school- 
master, and if he can get at him in no other way, he 
must when on his knees in his closet go after him and 
seek him until he find him. If the schoolmaster feels 
that his pastor has the spirit of prayer, he will not long 
stand out against him. A believing schoolmaster 
placed under an unconverted pastor has indeed a diffi- 
cult part to play ; but a pastor may much more easily 
gain the heart of an unconverted schoolmaster, if 



The Sacristan and Schoohnaster. 1 93 

only he set himself to the task in genuine humility. 
Above all, it will be the part of wisdom to avoid as 
much as possible raising any of those vexatious ques- 
tions we have noticed a few pages back ; and if the 
sacristan be wanting in small acts of courtesy and 
consideration, to overlook it, while taking care to treat 
him with respect, and to show him any little kindness 
that may lie in one's power. When he comes on 
Saturday evening to get the hymn for the morrow, he 
should be pressed to take a seat, and conversed with 
as a fellow-worker, not an inferior. No sacristan has 
a perfect pastor, no pastor a perfect sacristan ; where- 
ever they may meet you have a couple of poor sin- 
ners. In reading St, Paul's words to the Galatians, 
' Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law 
of Christ j' and, ' If any man be overtaken in a fault, 
restore such a one i7i the spirit of meekness^ consider- 
ing thyself lest thou also be tempted,' I have often 
been led to reflect upon the relation between pastor 
and sacristan : the spirit of meekness is the one thing 
needful here, but this only comes by prayer and fast- 
ing, and not by cautious calculation. The Apostle's 
rule of heaping coals of fire upon the head of another 
is by no means easy to follow, and he who attempts it 
must take care that he does not burn his own fingers 
to the secret amusement of the sacristan. These 
young men are aware that all sorts of services are 
expected from them, which they consider beneath 
their dignity; they are therefore not quite at their 

N 



194 My Ministerial Experiences, 

ease when they withhold them, expect to have the 
omission noticed, and are prepared to retort. It is 
ahvays an undignified position to be armed to the 
teeth and no enemy in sight ! An old and excellent 
pastor had a very young sacristan appointed to his 
chapel-of-ease, who was of course much wiser than 
the old gentleman. On Sunday the latter came 
driving up in his old vehicle, which had no step ; the 
former sacristan had always been in the habit of 
bringing him a chair to get out by, but the new one 
stood at the window with his long pipe, and watched 
tlie old minister struggle down, for he was already in- 
firm, then get out his foot-bag and his canonicals, and 
finally enter the schoolroom, with an apology for not 
being able to take off his hat, having both hands full. 
The young man was visibly embarrassed. His room 
looked very bare and empty, and wanted even neces- 
sary articles of furniture. The next Sunday the old 
pastor came again, bringing a good chest of drawers, 
which he meant to give to the young tyro, who stood 
as before at the window, watching the pastor and 
his servant getting out the drawers with considerable 
trouble, then carrying them into the room and placing 
them in the best way. Added to this the pastor had 
as before his foot-bag to carry in. When he left he 
congratulated the young man very kindly, having heard 
that the children liked his way of keeping school. 
The Sunday after that he came with two chairs, 
which were also a good deal wanted ; his servant 



The Sacristan and Schoolmaster. 1 95 

carried in one, he the other, upon which the young 
man gave in, felt thoroughly ashamed of his churlish- 
ness, and hurrying out, brought in the foot-bag, and 
all the other things, taking care to lay the foot-bag 
down upon the warm stove. I had this anecdote 
from himself, not from the pastor. 

Again, we must not be too much surprised if the 
schoolmaster be sometimes a little surly and irritable, 
for in point of fact, he has a very hard post. He who 
knows from experience what it is to spend the whole 
day in a low, narrow room, crowded with children, 
and imperfectly ventilated, and to return to anxiety 
and embarrassment at home, as to how the daily 
bread for the family can be procured, or some in- 
dispensable article of dress purchased ; such a one, 
I say, may well be indulgent ; even the man's manner 
is not always faultless. Once, through a mistake, I 
arrived too early at my chapel-of-ease ; it was winter 
time, and the usually active sacristan was still in bed 
when I entered the room. I asked him whether he 
was sick. . At first he give me no answer ; then he 
became downright angry, bewailed his condition, 
worried the whole week through, and having no rest 
even on Sunday, and, finally, he showed me the door. 
I went into the church, and waited till he came. On 
the Monday, I paid a visit to his school, and spoke 
to him as usual. He asked leave to accompany me 
home, and when we parted, shook my hand warmly. 
I felt that he was obliged to me for not referring to 



ig6 My Ministerial Experiences. 

the scene of yesterday, but leaving it to him to make 
up for it by future friendliness. The pastor, indeed, 
should not insist upon his sacristan attending to all the 
conventional rules of politeness, so that his heart be 
in the right place. Once my dear old sacristan and 
I were walking before a funeral — neither of us had 
noticed that the old man was upon the right side — 
when a clerical neighbour came riding by and pointed 
out the impropriety, to which the sacristan replied, 
in his slov/ and very quiet manner, ' Dear Sir, in 
our Bible it is written : "Be not conformed to the 
world;'" and we went on, leaving the remonstrant 
silenced. 

In short, we must set one thing steadily before 
us, the living with this important functionary in peace 
and concord. We must seek to raise the man in the 
estimation of the parish, and lend him all the assist- 
ance we can. His influence is greater than may be 
supposed j and if he hears and sees that the pastor 
seeks his welfare, he will do his best. But the main 
point will always be the winning over his heart to 
the Lord and the holy calling, in which he is our 
fellow-worker. If the pastor is in the habit of speak- 
ing lightly of the sacristan's office, he need not won- 
der that the man should behave himself carelessly 
and irreverently at baptisms, burials, or marriages. It 
is, indeed, well worth our while to be much in prayer 
for him, and, besides, our own love and patience will 
grow thereby. 



The Sacristan aiid Schoolmaste7\ 197 

Of late, much has been done to increase the very 
inadequate payments of schoohnasters, especially by 
the worthy minister Von Raumer, who deserves the 
gratitude of all interested in the cause of popular 
education. He is pre-eminently the one who has 
had this cause at heart ; and if, hitherto, the race of 
schoolmasters have but imperfectly recognised his 
services, his name will be dear to them in times to 
come. But it is the especial duty of the pastor to see 
to it, that his sacristan does not suffer want, and he 
must not grudge him an occasional opportunity of 
earning a little over and above his pay. When, for 
instance, the sacristan's bees swarm, or his silk-worms 
require particular care, the pastor must, every now 
and then, be willing to keep school for him, must 
look out for similar occasions of rendering him little 
services, and have the necessary repairs of his dwell- 
ing promptly and properly attended to. 

There can be no doubt that the sort of education 
bestowed upon our modern schoolmasters does lead 
to some discrepancy between their requirements and 
their means. Formerly, they used to carry on some 
handiwork as well ; to be tailors, weavers, cobblers, 
etc. ; and then they made a comfortable living. This 
they no longer do, though the schoolmaster has still 
a good deal of time to spare, especially in summer ; 
but then it is difficult to find any employment that 
would suit him. The old race of schoolmasters used 
to help their neighbours in the harvest, and knew how 



1^8 My Ministerial Experiences, 

to turn their hand to work of any kind. My first 
sacristan was, indeed, old and somewhat infirm; 
but, during the harvest, he used to go daily and 
superintend the women hay -making, and to work 
with them as far as his strength allowed. He was 
not, indeed, paid in money, but he got many a privi- 
lege, and dined free at the table of the bailiff like 
the rest of the overlookers. Without help of this 
kind, poverty sometimes reaches such a pitch in the 
sacristan's home, that one cannot wonder at the man 
losing all energy and cheerfulness, more especially 
if his wife be town-bred, want to manage things in 
town-fashion, and be ashamed of household work. 
At a conference of from fifty to sixty schoolmasters, 
there were great complaints made — more particularly 
from the better paid — as to the difficulty of making 
both ends meet. An old man, who had been fifty 
years in a situation that was estimated at about 
seventy thalers, sat by in silence ; and as, although he 
did not wear a close coat, he was respectably, and 
even handsomely attired, he was asked how it was 
he got on so well. To which he replied, * I am an 
unlearned man, and cannot think of entering into a 
discussion when I am amongst my colleagues, who 
have been better taught; but I would just say, to 
the glory of my God, that I have never known want. 
Only in the houses of many sacristans there are con- 
stantly expensive guests who eat up everything. But 
" godliness is profitable for all things," and we have the 



The Sacristan and Schoolmaster. 199 

promise that even in this life we shall lack no manner 
of thing that is good.* Upon which many began to 
protest that they lived very quiet lives, seldom even 
seeing a neighbour, and begged the old man to ex- 
plain himself, which he long declined to do, express- 
ing a fear that he should give offence ; at last, 
however, he said, 'The guests that I mean are Pride 
and Discontent.' At which some murmured, but the 
greater part held their peace, for the old man was a 
very humble character. 

The year 1 848 showed indeed plainly, that it was 
not always the best-paid schoolmasters who managed 
best and were most contented. The question of how 
highly a master's income should be rated, is difficult 
or rather impossible to answer. A man's well-being 
depends mainly on his character. The gift of good 
management is not given to all, and the interpreta- 
tion of essentials is very different. In short, the 
eyes with which men see things are different. One 
is always looking into the empty vessels and sighing, 
another looks into those that are full and gives hearty 
thanks. The one counts his 200 pence, and calcu- 
lates and calculates till care takes up its permanent 
abode in his mind ; the other's eyes wait upon the 
Lord who has often blessed the small sum, so that 
there has been enough and to spare. The first thing 
that we must try to insist upon is that the school- 
master should have daily family prayer. Many think 
it is enough that they always open and close school 



200 My Ministerial Experiences. 

with prayer, but their own family ought not to be neg- 
lected. When the schoolmaster comes to the par- 
sonage on the Saturday evening it must be so managed 
that he should share in the family worship there, and 
the opportunity be improved by a little religious con- 
versation. The choosing of the hymn will also give 
occasion for this. The pious people in the village 
like to hear family worship going on in the school- 
master's house, and even the ungodly feel a respect 
for the man who does not merely sing hymns in church 
and school because that is part of his office, who, in 
short, is not a hireling only in the kingdom of God. 

The increase of population has led to schools with 
many classes in large country parishes and in small 
towns, and in some places we find two, three, or even 
four teachers. When I was a school inspector I 
occupied myself a good deal with devising a system 
for such schools, and although it was never so 
matured as to be practically carried out, I will still 
mention it, — perhaps it may receive further considera- 
tion from the friends of education amongst us. 

In an ordinary national school the kind of instruc- 
tion to be given does not very well admit of the school 
being divided into three or four different classes. In 
the lowest class the teacher has hard work to get the 
children to read tolerably, and to take the first steps 
in writing and arithmetic. The first class too gives 
employment enough in the preparation of the chil- 
dren for confirmation, but the intermediate classes 



The Sacristan and Schoolmaster. 201 

may very probably be taken more easily, the teacher 
relying upon his final exertions. 

Now, presuming this to be the case, a great evil 
is done by moving these pupils away from under 
him. His personal influence upon the child's cha- 
racter is diminished, so is his educational energy, 
and still more his affectionate interest in the well- 
being of that child. According to the present system 
the chief aim is the imparting a certain amount 
of knowledge, but, in fact, what the children of the 
lower classes want is moral aclture. Now, if they 
are only for a short time with one teacher after an- 
other, they can never become much attached to any 
of them. My plan, therefore, would be that where- 
ever there are three or four teachers there should 
be as many schools, so that the same teacher might 
carry on the same children from first to last, but not 
in the same way as CQuntry schools, with one master, 
are majiaged — new children being taken in every half 
year — but rather so as to allow of each master receiving 
younger children at an interval of one or two years, 
and never having more than two divisions under his 
care. Say, for example, that the first division entered 
at Easter 1840, the second will enter at Easter 1841. 
The whole school will be under this master's care from 
six to eight years; in 1842 and 1843 the little children 
will be taken in by another master and kept till their 
education is over, and so in the case of the tv/o 
other masters. 



202 My MinisteiHal Experze^ices, 

Upon the present plan the children may very pro- 
bably fare as did that ass bequeathed by a father to 
his three sons, who each used him successively, but 
always left the feeding of him to the care of the brother 
who was to have his services on the morrow, so that 
the poor animal at length died of hunger. Besides 
which, we must admit that there is something intoler- 
ably wearisome in having to go over and over again 
the same narrow round with one class only. One can- 
not avoid feeling some sympathy with the complaints 
of a man doomed to teach nothing but spelling and 
ciphering. There are, no doubt, some teachers who 
have an especial gift for the training of very young 
children, but there are not many who can endure 
labouring exclusively among them for any length of 
time. According to my plan, the teacher would have 
to advance with his children, and only to return to 
the rudiments, and begin over again, once in six or 
eight years. Again, this would lead to a healthy 
emulation between teachers, each would identify 
himself with his pupils, each would gain some credit 
for his pains. And then the sadly-weakened tie 
between parents and teachers would be renewed 
when the latter had the permanent care of their 
children. On the other hand, it will be urged that 
all teachers are not equally fitted to carry on the 
work of progressive education. To which we reply 
that all have had the same training, and been pro- 
nounced, upon examination, fit for their task. If 



The Sacristan arid Schoolmaster, 203 

there be a diversity of talent and worth amongst 
schoolmasters, and those children who fell under 
inferior care would deserve to be pitied, I can only- 
say that they would but share the risk every parish 
must run with respect to its pastor, while, at all 
events, it is undeniable that my plan would afford a 
powerful stimulus to exertion to every teacher, as he 
would have no one to rely upon besides himself. 
Again, the comparison between his success and that 
of the other masters would quicken his zeal and spur 
on his industry, besides which it would be easier 
to control him, and to test his achievements. In 
short, though I may not be able to do away with all 
possible objections, I am convinced that this method 
has such great and evident advantages that it would 
be well worth while to give it a trial. 

The present system of breaking up the classes 
whenever they become too large, and appointing a 
new teacher to the additional class, tends still further 
to weaken the tie between the master and the pupils ; 
so that the latter sink to a mere numerical aggre- 
gate, and the master can never know any of them 
intimately. As for the greater progress made in 
learning, I doubt it much, and the experience of 
several other inspectors bears out mine. 

The years of school attendance range from about 
the age of six to fourteen ; and I consider that, gene- 
rally speaking, the school hours are too long. Another 
advantage of the plan that I have been advocating 



204 My Ministerial Experiences, 

would be, that the children could easily have their 
hours of attendance adapted to their requirements, 
to the condition of their parents, and to their domes- 
tic avocations. For the scholars who had begun 
their confirmation classes, and had been well taught 
and trained, up to their twelfth year, by the same 
master, two hours of regular instruction daily might 
suffice. These hours, of course, would have to be regu- 
lated by public convenience. Those children who 
spent the full time in school would share in the spe- 
cial instruction given to the others, and afterwards they 
might go on with their history, geography, and other 
studies. But for children destined to gain their daily 
bread by hard labour, it is above all desirable not 
to be plagued at school with things that they must 
inevitably forget, as they can never be made any 
practical use of. It is mainly important that they 
should be thoroughly grounded in Bible history and 
in their Catechism ; should know well the first four 
rules of arithmetic, and be able to write a legible 
hand. 

Not long since, a gentleman of much experience in 
these matters told me that my plan was not a new 
one, having been tried in a gymnasium at Konigs- 
berg without success. The reasons for such a failure 
are too evident to be entered upon. And national 
schools are so essentially different from gymnasia that 
the objections which attended the working of the plan 
in the latter can have no bearing upon my argu- 



The Sacristan and Schoolmaster. 205 

ments. Once for all, however, let me state that there 
is no infallible method, and the less legerdemain the 
modern system pretends to in the matter of reading, 
writing, or ciphering, the less it seeks to fashion the 
living, growing human being by set rules, the better 
our schools will prosper. The personal influence 
of the teacher, and the condition of the parish, 
must have due weight given them. One thing is 
to my judgment certain : the present national school, 
with its rapid transference of the children from 
master to master, and its divisions into classes of 
special instruction, is a hindrance to the course of 
true education, reduces its moral influence to a mini- 
mum, wearies the teacher, lessens his interest in the 
children, alienates the parents from him, and makes 
them indifferent to the school altogether. 

Nevertheless, under all circumstances whatsoever, 
it remains the sacred duty of the pastor to cherish 
the school as his dear child, to keep up Christian 
intercourse with the teachers, to comfort and 
strengthen them by God's word, and not to treat 
them as strangers, but as fellow-workers in bringing 
up the young of the congregation for the Lord of 
the Church. And, further, the pastor must often 
have a reference to the children in his sermons. If 
he wishes the master to bring them regularly to 
church, he must not forget them when they are 
there. The parents are pleased to hear their chil- 
dren addressed and exhorted ; and the children 



2o6 Aly Ministerial Experie7ices, 

themselves feel that they too have their place in the 
congregation, when something is said that concerns 
their special circumstances and duties. 

In conclusion, we have thankfully to acknowledge 
that Government has of late paid great attention to the 
choice of normal school directors and other teachers, 
and that at the present time many young men are 
appointed to national schools who really do bring a 
hearty good-will to the work ; and, therefore, it the 
more becomes the pastor to receive them with all 
affection, and to see that they do not lose ground 
amidst the cares and trials of daily life. 



IIT. 



SECESSION AND REVIVAL. 

A LTHOUGH, since the war of liberation, there 
have been doubtless many individual souls who 
turned to the living God, when his hand smote them, 
and cried to him in their distress; yet these formed but 
a small minority compared to the Church at large, 
and there were wide districts in our fatherland com- 
pletely wrapped in the sleep of death. Rationalism, 
assuming more and more the form of careless indiffer- 
ence, devastated the spiritual life of the people, dwelt 
in proud security in the parsonage, and held undis- 
turbed possession of pulpits and altars. In higher 
regions, indeed, especially in the domain of theological 
science, the warfare had begun in good earnest, the 
Evangelical Ecclesiastical Journal and other periodicals 
had disturbed the enemy in his repose, but in the 
provinces he was still paramount. The churches 
themselves looked melancholy enough, dilapidated, 
neglected, and dirty, and the state of the parishes 
was still worse. Family prayer, and even grace 



2o8 My Alinisterial Experiences. 

before meat, had become generally obsolete, or if they 
still survived, were too often a mere empty form. In- 
differentism prevailed to such a degree that God and 
his word were forgotten and unmentioned. Here and 
there, however, a few individuals assembled in a con- 
venticle, patiently bore the ridicule of pastor and 
people, edified themselves with old homilies, chiefly 
those of Schubert, Franke, and Amdt ; and sang the 
old Church hymns. 

As for the pastors, they farmed their land, played 
cards, and gave much offence to the few earnest 
members of their flock, but the others were sunk too 
low themselves to care about the matter. If it were 
not repugnant to one's natural feelings, and to the law 
de i7iorttiis ?ul nisi bene, I could relate circumstances 
relating to pastors who held good livings, which might 
well check all wonder at dissent from a church that 
CO aid tolerate such conduct in its ministers. As for 
the care of souls, that had been lost sight of alto- 
gether. A preacher in my neighbourhood having, 
on one Easter Day, held forth against the resurrection 
of the body, one of his hearers called upon him to 
ask whether he had rightly understood him, and 
found him playing cards. For answer he had a 
groschen taken from the table and tossed at him, with 
the following words : ' Go your ways, and buy a rope 
and hang yourself, and then you'll know all about the 
resurrection, and, if you can, come back and tell 
me.' The man so addressed came to me, and wished 



Secession avd Revival. 209 

me to write a petition to the king for him, that this 
pastor might be taken to task ; and when I refused, 
he said, after an interval of silence, ' I see plainly that 
one crow will not pick out another's eyes.' Another 
man, who suffered much from religious difficulties, 
and went about from church to church, hearing now 
one minister, now another, was in the habit of often 
coming to mine. Once, after an interval of non- 
attendance, he paid me a visit, and said : * I have now 
left off going to church altogether, for I only get more 
and more confused, and less know what I ought to be- 
lieve. One preacher says that repentance is necessary 
to salvation ; another, that it is a mere disease of the 
soul, against which we must guard ; another, that it 
is only necessary for openly wicked characters. So 
it is with regard to faith in the Lord Jesus. In your 
church, I hear the very opposite of what is preached 
elsewhere.' I pointed him to the Bible, where he 
could examine the truth for himself, to which he 
replied : ' Yes, you all alike appeal to that, but which 
of you is right % ' 

As to the Union at the time I refer to, little had 
been as yet heard of it in the country at large ; it 
was only mentioned in the reports of pastors and 
superintendents. The pietists of the conventicle 
took no particular interest in it, and as for the altera- 
tions introduced into the communion service, they 
were little remarked ; it was enough that the king 
willed them. Neither did the new Age7ida make any 
o 



2IO My Ministerial Experiences, . 

commotion. A few pastors only, in whom Rationalism 
had not passed into utter indifference, discovered in it 
a return to the old obsolete orthodoxy, or even perhaps 
a catholic tendency. The more pious members of the 
congregations were glad to hear in church something 
that reminded them of the old volumes of sermons 
they had inherited from their fathers, and pronounced 
the new Agenda a beautiful book. But as the differ- 
ent conventicles kept up a system of intimate com- 
munication with other provinces, and by letters or 
visits from brethren, were made aware of what was 
going on in distant parts of the country, it so hap- 
pened that we in the March came to hear of the 
melancholy occurrences in Silesia, and no doubt the 
reports that reached us were even exaggerated. It 
was incomprehensible to our serious people that 
such things should take place under the govern- 
ment of a king whom they were so willing to beheve 
pious at heart, whom they loved so warmly, and 
prayed for so much. There was a universal convic- 
tion indeed, that the king had nothing to do with it. 
Soon after, however, there came men among us who 
had been eye-witnesses of the events in Honigern and 
other places, and told how — the parishes having re- 
fused to accept the new Agenda because it contained 
false doctrine, and was at variance with Luther's Cate- 
chism — the pastor had been deposed and another 
placed in his stead ; how there had been coUisions 
between the people and the soldiery who were em- 



Secession and Revival. 2 1 1 

ployed to enforce the acceptance of the Agenda ; and 
finally how several pastors, and those the most zeal- 
ous and best, had been put in prison. The same 
intelligence, too, reached us from Pomerania. A 
man of the name of Bagaus, formerly a carpenter by 
trade, visited the conventicles, and addressed the 
people in a powerful and exciting strain, stirring up 
their suspicions against all ministers who made use of 
the Agenda, as being enemies to the Lutheran Church, 
which was henceforth to give way to a united unirt'e, 
or — as they preferred to say, playing upon the word 
— ruifiirtie ruined church. The false doctrine of the 
French reformers was, they averred, to be mixed up 
with the truth of the Lutheran creed, and so on. The 
persecution this refractory party underwent gave them 
an appearance of being on the right side, and their 
writings were greedily read ; the State Church was 
pronounced to be a Babylon, and the attention of men 
v/as called to the life and conversation of those who 
preached even glaring scepticism undisturbed, while 
believing arid pious pastors were deposed and im- 
prisoned : hence it was argued the character of the 
movement might be clearly inferred, the true faith 
was to be put down, and the Church made over to 
unbelievers. Dancing, card-playing, and bad lan- 
guage, it was pointed out, were freely allowed, but 
meetings for prayer were sternly prohibited. At last 
the quiet population began to be stirred ; they got 
hold of the new Agenda, sometimes with, sometimes 



212 My Ministerial Experiejices. 

without the knowledge of their pastors, and the 
question of the Union was variously discussed. The 
saddest part of it was that the inquirers got the most 
discrepant answers from the pastors themselves ; one 
would tell them that the union implied conformity of 
doctrine throughout the Church, another that the union 
had nothing to do with doctrine, and only meant the 
being joined together in the spirit of love. Attention 
now began to be paid to isolated expressions, and as is 
so often the case, the merest non-essentials were made 
the Shibboleth of a party. ' If nothing important be 
meant, why should there be any alteration % ' it was 
asked, ' why not go on using the same words as of old 1' 
Then the introduction of the word tmiversal into the 
third article caused much perturbation in the popular 
mind. What could be the meaning of a Universal 
Church % Such a one w^ould include all men, even if 
they led the lives of beasts, such a one would infallibly 
oppress and persecute the true and invisible Church, as 
indeed was now the case. Still worse was the formula 
prescribed in the communion service, ' Our Lord and 
Saviour says,' etc. ; this last was looked upon as an 
unmistakable proof of unbelief ' If the pastor be 
really a believer, let him,' it was said, ' speak in his 
own person, and not use a phrase which ^ does not 
necessarily imply his acquiescence in the truth of the 
words he employs ; as well might the creed run as 
follows, ' It is written in the Catechism, I believe in 
God the Father.' But more offensive than all beside 



Secession and Revival. 1 1 3 

was the title of ' United Churchx.' ' Where/ the in- 
quiry ran, ' was the Lutheran Church ; was that done 
away with, had they ceased to be Lutherans 1' In 
short, even those who hitherto had taken no interest 
in questions of the kind, were drawn into the popular 
current of feeling, and the more obscure the exact 
meaning of the union, the more distorted were the 
representations of it that circulated among the people. 
Most difficult, indeed, was now the position of the 
pastors in whom the people would else have reposed 
confidence. For my own part, up to this time I had 
not advanced beyond Lutheran pietism, and I had 
been drawn into the union like the majority of the 
laity, without foreseeing the consequences. The dif- 
ference of doctrine betv/een Luther and the other 
reformers was indeed known to- me as a matter of 
history, but it had never assumed any importance in 
my inner life. I had rather been disposed to wel- 
come the union of both churches with a certain en- 
thusiasm, and had hoped only for an increased activity, 
never suspecting that it would occasion strife and 
division between believers themselves. But now the 
numerous questions addressed to me, and the severe 
measures taken in Silesia, led me to pay closer atten- 
tion to the subjects under dispute, and I began to 
study the history of the Reformation, and the division 
between reformers as to the Lord's Supper. The 
conclusion that I arrived at was, that although a man 
may find peace to his soul, and attain to final salva- 



2 1 4 ^'^y Ministerial Experiences, 

tion without any clear conception of the Lutheran 
doctrine of the sacraments, yet that a church cannot 
exist without one definite and plain confession of faith 
on so important a subject. It used to be frequently 
said in general conversation at that time, and even 
laid down in controversial works, that the confessions 
of faith of the Lutheran and the Reformed Churches 
had so much in common, and that the points of dif- 
ference were so unimportant, that the consefisus of 
both was ground sufficient for a united church. But 
up to that period no one had formularized that con- 
sensus, and who was authorized to do it now % Or if 
any one did undertake it, where would he find ad- 
herents % Or of what avail would it be when practically 
both churches really diverged % The famous Order 
in Council of 1834, itself the offspring of perplexity, 
could in no way compose the public mind ; it sought 
to compromise matters by ordering that both confes- 
sions of faith should remain as they were, and at the 
same time insisting upon the churches uniting in 
prayer and the holy communion. But how can one 
church have two conflicting and mutually excluding 
confessions of faith % If it were pleaded that all the 
union required was mutual love and moderation, one 
might reply that these certainly existed before the 
union was mooted, since the differences between the 
churches were so far forgotten that no one thought of 
asking to which a man belonged. The members of 
each used to unite in all Christian labours of love, such 



Secession and Revival. 2 1 5 

as Bible and missionary meetings. As for the great 
majority, who were given over to Rationahsm, trifling 
difficulties such as these were mere gnats, which they, 
having swallowed the camel of unbehef, made no 
account of at all. Neither certainly had the union itself 
been established in the spirit of love and moderation. 
It had led to people being persecuted and imprisoned 
for conscience' sake, a thing hitherto unknown in 
Prussia. It was often remarked that it could not have 
originated in a Christian spirit, since it attacked the 
beheving part of the community, and left sceptics 
undisturbed. Prussia had indeed extended her pro- 
tection to the French Reformers who had settled on 
her soil, and that was well ; but that now her own true 
and faithful children were to be exiled on account 
of their ancestral faith, this was an unheard -of thing 
indeed. 

For my part, I tried to comfort myself with the 
expression hitherto made use of in official documents, 
which was that of Union^ not United Church; but this 
distinction • no way satisfied the excited members of 
my own or of neighbouring parishes. They retorted, 
why then the innovations, why the breaking of bread, 
why the alterations in the new Agenda, and why 
these persecutions of such as will not accept the so- 
called amendments % 

When the agitation had widely but secretly spread, 
it was much increased by the appearance of Kinder- 
mann, and after him of Ehrenstrom, the latter a man of 



2 1 6 Ely Mmisterial Experiences, . 

imposing external appearance, and having a great gift of 
popular oratory. His settled residence was in Stettin, 
but whenever he came to Wallmow or Briissow, 
crowds streamed from great distances to hear him. 
He preached in bams or lowly dwellings, where his 
hearers had very inadequate space. Upon one occa- 
sion, when I had driven over to a neighbouring village 
to be present at one of his addresses, he spoke with 
great vehemence against the blending of true and 
false doctrine, quoted strong expressions of Luther 
against the reformers, and denounced the union as 
soul-destroying. He delivered a warning against all 
so-called believing pastors in the United Church, 
whom he characterized as devils in disguise, and 
wolves in sheep's clothing, and thus ended a discourse 
that was listened to throughout with sighs and groans 
of conviction and approval. Upon another occasion, 
I heard him deliver a sacramental address, of which 
the leading idea was as follows : — The blessed sacra- 
ment had always jbeen the means of union between 
Christ and his members, had been the very central 
truth of the Christian Church, and therefore the devil 
had always made it his chief point of attack. First of 
all, in the Catholic Church he had incited the false 
priest to invent transubstantiation, and to withhold the 
cup from the laity. When this falsehood would no 
longer hold, came Zuinglius, who did away with the 
sacrament altogether, except as a type, a symbol, a 
commemoration. The devil, however, perceived that 



Secession and Revival. 217 

he had wrought this latter snare too coarsely, and there- 
fore he set up Calvin, who was a cunning Frenchman 
(the preacher well knew that his audience expected 
no good from any Frenchman), and he spun the 
thread so fine and delicate, that he deceived many, 
and ail unbelieving pastors swore that the thing was 
all right. But our good father Luther was not to be 
so deceived, and he saw to it that the Lutheran 
Church should have the full comfort of the pure 
doctrine. In the Lutheran Church alone, the true 
body and true blood of Christ are administered. But 
Satan will never be at rest so long as, in the holy 
sacrament, this body and blood being really adminis- 
tered to the people, his power on earth was Hmited ; 
and therefore he invented the Union ; and the priests 
of Baal in the United Church pretended to their 
unfortunate flocks that brotherly love to the reformed 
party required the steps. Such love, however, was not 
a love that pleased God, but one which delighted the 
Devil, who was a murderer and liar, because he had, 
by means- of it, deprived men of the bread of hfe. And, 
indeed, true Lutherans had daily experience of what 
love and toleration meant in the mouths of the United ; 
for were not they everywhere surrounded hj ge7tdarmes, 
were they not constantly threatened and punished be- 
cause they would not accept false doctrine ; were they 
not deprived of their possessions, obliged to meet in 
secret for the worship of their God, and imprisoned for 
their conscientious bearing witness to the truth ! 



2 1 8 My ^Ministerial Experiences. 

And this the united called brotherly love and mutual 
toleration ! 

Amongst some old papers of mine I find another 
sample of Ehrenstrom's manner of preaching. His 
followers were assembled in a large barn, and he 
took for his subject the Abomination of Desolation 
standing in the Holy Places of the United Church : 
I. In its Baptism ; 2. Absolution ; 3. Pulpit ; 4. 
New Agenda. ' In the United Church/ said he, 
' men are not taught what is contained in God's 
word, but what the king has appointed worldly-wise 
pastors to deliver. Consequently the devil must not 
be alluded to in baptism; he must no longer be 
exorcised, or in any way prevented enjoying his 
dominion undisturbed. We Lutherans have shaken 
off the devil's yoke, therefore he rages against us ; 
therefore the United persecute us, but God's judg- 
ments will surely come, etc. Secondly^ As to absolu- 
tion, the so-called evangelical ministers have no longer 
the right to bestow it, for these priests of Baal do not 
hold their commissions from Christ, but the King of 
Prussia ; accordingly, whoever will may attend their 
communion, and, whatever their character, receive the 
priestly benediction, nay, there will be an especial wel- 
come for any ungodly official who persecutes believers, 
and their absolution, such as it is, will at once be con- 
ferred upon him. These proud Pharisees do not bear 
Christ's cross, but they love to display on their breasts 
an embroidered cross given them as a reward for per- 



Secession and Revival, 2 1 9 

securing the true Church. But we Lutheran pastors do 
stand in Christ's place, and therefore we have power 
to remit and to retain sins. We have the word of God 
pure and undefiled, and therefore Jesus the crucified 
and risen Saviour is our Lord indeed. Fear ye not, 
therefore, he is on our side. Thirdly^ The abomina- 
tion of desolation stands in the pulpit of the United 
Church ; for you know and have heard for yourselves 
that it is there taught that He is not the only be- 
gotten Son of God, but a wise teacher merely ; that 
the Bible is a human production, and not the word of 
God, that there is no hell and no damnation of the 
ungodly. In this way the congregations of the United 
Church are betrayed and deceived to their spiritual 
ruin ; and if any one testifies against it, he is driven 
out. Finally^ The abomination of desolation reigns in 
the new Agenda. This is a very dangerous book ; it 
contains only half che truth ; all doctrine therein is 
adulterated and confused ; according to it there is no 
longer a Lutheran Church, and the worst of it is its 
plausibility, by which poor Christians are deluded, 
and persuaded by time-servers that they are safe in 
accepting it, and that there is scriptural authority for 
it all. But we Lutherans believe not in this new- 
fangled book which mingles truth and falsehood, but 
in the old Bible of our fathers, and we are accord- 
ingly pronounced stupid, and weak, and ignorant, 
because we cannot perceive any advantage got by 
mixing pure and impure water,' etc. 



22 o My Ministerial Experiences, 

Such sermons as these increased the popular agita- 
tion. The pastorswho had hitherto enjoyed the respect 
and confidence of the quiet in the land, now began 
to be regarded with cuspicion, and tlieir cliurches 
were more and more forsaken. The open seces- 
sions from the State Church were so numerous, that 
it was to be feared only those remained within it who 
were quite indifferent to God and his word, and even 
those who had not formally seceded, left off coming 
to our services, and attended the mieetings held by 
Ehrenstrom. The distress and perplexity of pastors 
and superintendents went on increasing. 

Meanwhile the change in the cabinet, and the death 
of the Minister Altenstein, had given a new direction 
to church affairs. There was a conviction felt in high 
quarters that the recent attempt had been a complete 
failure, that religious convictions were neither to be 
created nor suppressed by legal measures, and that the 
more severely these last were enforced, the stronger 
the resistance they would call forth. Indeed the 
willingness to suffer for the faith was a source of 
strength against which all political and bureaucratic 
weapons had proved utter failures. That in Prussia 
thousands should leave their loved fatherland for the 
sake of their creed, was so unexpected and amazing 
a thing, that the king and his Minister Eichhorn had to 
adopt another course in hopes of quieting the popular 
mind. Those who had been imprisoned for recusancy, 
were set at liberty, and the seceding ministers were 



Secession and Revival. 22 1 

allowed free scope. But confidence in the ecclesias- 
tical authorities having once been lost, was not easily 
to be regained. The separatists had now a feeling of 
triumph, and their conviction of the justice and 
strength of their cause increased visibly. Their 
general synod held in Breslau in 1841, had a great 
influence upon the course of events. Ehrenstroin had 
been a member of this synod, but he soon found it 
difficult to submit to its decisions ; indeed this was 
intolerable to his fanaticism and fiery zeal. He re- 
garded the negotiations between this synod and the 
civil authorities as treachery to the Lutheran Church, 
and accused the former of falling away from the word 
of God. The result was that, after many deputations 
sent to him, and much discussion, he was threatened 
with suspension, but this threat took no effect upon 
him or his fanatical followers, by whom he was held 
in the deepest reverence. Indeed, their excitement 
of feeling was so great that none of them would hire 
out horses or carriages to the offending deputations, 
and a farmer who still belonged to the Established 
Church was obliged to convoy them back again. 

The enmity against the national Church and its 
pastors had now reached its m.aximum. The separa- 
tists refused to send their children to school, refused 
to pay their rates to Church school, or pastor. Fines 
were imposed, reluctantly indeed, but of necessity ; 
those who had the money holding it to be wrong to 
give it willingly, and preferring to have it extracted 



222 My Ministerial Experieiices. 

by distraining. Gradually these distraints grew more 
and more oppressive ; the day-labourer's cow and 
necessary household furniture were taken away, even 
the bed under the widow was seized. In this way 
the poor lost more than double what they owed, for 
when their articles were put up to auction they went 
for nothing, very few choosing to bid for them at all, 
under the impression that a curse lay on goods thus 
violently wrested from the poor. And when, at 
length, permission was granted to these separatists to 
have schools of their own, they were willing to avail 
themselves of it, indeed, but not under the conditions 
affixed; they would neither apply for the requisite 
concession, nor employ masters who had gone through 
a regular training, consequently their schools were 
closed and their teachers punished. In short, in every 
way they courted persecution. ^ Our schools,' they 
said, ' cannot possibly be made mere private and party 
schools, any more than our religious services are so, 
for we are the true Lutheran Church, which alone 
is the rightful church in Prussia. The United, or 
Royal, or State Church, call it what you will, has no 
historical right, and every step taken by us towards 
its recognition is treason against God and our con- 
sciences.' The sacrifices that these men made to 
pay their ministers and maintain their schools was 
very great, added to which they had to endure per- 
petual fines and distraints. The more untenable 
Ehrenstrom's position became, the more he cherished 



Secession and Revival. 223 

the idea of emigration to America. All this time the 
Minister Eichhorn, who inherited the luckless mea- 
sures of his predecessor Altenstein, had the best and 
noblest intentions ; and proceeded to appoint a com- 
mission out of the different provinces to consult 
upon the best course to pursue. At that time I 
had frequent opportunities of private conversation 
with this statesman, who, for his part, professed himself 
unable to understand what these people wanted, see- 
ing he had granted them all possible liberty. He 
spoke, however, from the stand-point of personal piety, 
but overlooked the necessary foundations and condi- 
tions of a visible church. He was a man of large 
and liberal spirit, a lover of union in the true sense 
of the word, and had heard and heeded the decided 
veto church history records against all attempts to 
coerce rehgious convictions, and hence it was diffi- 
cult to persuade him to take any steps against the 
encroachments and excesses of Ehrenstrom, though 
it was as clear as the day that the latter was following 
his own selfish ends rather than fighting for the truth. 
Indeed, this fanatic refused all negotiations or com- 
promises whatever. We are the Lutheran Church, 
we are the persecuted Zion, he kept on crying, and 
his followers took up the cry. Gradually they came 
to openly proclaiming that no one could be saved in 
the United Church ; that she was the Babylon of the 
Apocalypse, etc. When at last Ehrenstrom found that 
his proceedings would no longer be tolerated, he began 



224 ^^y Ministerial Expe^'iences, 

to exhort his followers to emigrate. Everything was 
done, on the other hand, to keep these poor, mis- 
guided people back. Difficulties were raised as to 
passports, etc., but they contrived to overcome them 
all. As several had not money to cover the expenses 
of the voyage, four farmers came forward with 20,500 
thalers to enable the poorer members of the congre- 
gation to undertake the step. In the February of 
1843, out of one circle, no fewer than 436 obtained 
the necessary pass ; out of my parish alone I lost 
more than 150. There were most heart-rending cir- 
cumstances connected with this emigration. The 
inhabitants of the March are devotedly attached 
to their fatherland ; they had to undergo a terrible 
struggle to tear themselves away from it ; and they 
sold land, houses, and furniture with many tears, 
taking away with them much that was worthless 
indeed, but dear through association. The most 
sacred ties of relationship had to be rent. Ehren- 
strom might indeed cry. He that loveth father and 
mother, wife or child, more than the Lord, cannot 
be his disciple ; but for all that, hearts would bleed. 
Attractive as might be the pictures drawn of the reli- 
gious liberty to be enjoyed in America, yet the part- 
ing from the homes of their fathers, the long voyage 
over the great ocean, the uncertainty of the future, 
weighed heavily in the opposite scale. Again, the 
young men liable to military service could not obtain 
a passport, and had to remain behind ; so had chii- 



Secession and Revival. 225 

dren under guardianship ; even husband and wife had 
to be torn asunder, the one thinking it a sin to go, 
the other to remain. For instance, a fanner whom I 
knew, hved most happily with his wife, and their farm 
was in a flourishing condition ; but the man was per- 
tinaciously assailed by Ehrenstrom on account of his 
wealth, and at last persuaded to emigrate; while his 
wife, on the contrary, though thoroughly pious, could 
not make up her mind to the step, and remained be- 
hind. But her happiness was gone ; she ate her 
bread with tears. Her husband, on the other hand, 
could not forget his wife ; night and day he was tor- 
tured with self-reproaches for having left her. One 
Sunday evening, when the poor, lonely woman had 
gone to bed, there was a knock at the window, and 
on inquiring who it was, she heard her husband's 
voice ; he had returned to her ! Then there arose a 
generous conflict between them, the wife offering to 
go with her husband, and he to remain with her, since 
it cost her so much to quit her old home. However, 
very soon, after, it ended in their selling everything, 
and sailing together. Upon hearing of this man's 
unexpected return, people came from far and near 
to convince themselves by ocular demonstration that 
a man who had crossed the great ocean could really 
have come back again. 

After this first and most considerable emigration 
came a second, which was to be led by Ehren- 
strom himself In order to escape the trouble and 
p 



2 26 My Ministerial Experiences, ■ 

difficulty of getting a pass, no small number set out 
surreptitiously ; but they were seized, obliged to re- 
turn, and delayed till they had taken the proper pre- 
liminary steps. These poor souls excited the greatest 
sympathy, and met with most hospitable treatment 
from the parishes they had left, till at length, all 
necessary measures being accomplished, the parting 
was repeated, and the departure final. As to Ehren- 
strom himself, he was captured in Hamburgh, and 
punished for using offensive language against the 
State Church, and persuading people to emigrate ; but 
afterwards he joined his followers, who had formed a 
colony not far from Buffalo, and called it by the 
name of their native village. The remainder of the 
body, who stayed at home, submitted themselves 
to the Breslau Synod, and were thenceforth provided 
with religious ordinances in a regular manner. 

About the time of the greatest excitement, a very 
gifted and pious man, of decided Lutheran tenden- 
cies, was appointed to a parish in which seces- 
sion from the Church had most widely spread, while 
I had a cure given me in the small town near, in 
which Ehrenstrom had a large body of followers ; but 
he had not at that time repudiated the Breslau party, 
or initiated the emigration movement. Both I and 
my clerical neighbour felt the great difficulty of the 
task committed to us ; but we found strength in our 
common labour and common distress, and comfort 
in the word of God and . in prayer. Before I moved 



Secession and Revival. 227 

to my cure, I received sundry anonymous letters 
warning me against accepting it, because, they said, 
the true light had risen there, and people could dis- 
cern false doctrine. The parsonage had long been 
empty, and although originally an excellent house, 
presented a desolate and melancholy appearance. I 
had left my family behind me, with the exception of 
one child. Not a creature welcomed us. I went to 
see a family whom I knew ; but those to whom I 
bowed in the street would hardly acknowledge my 
greeting, and in the evening idle boys took to throw- 
ing stones through the windows. On the Sunday, the 
large church was nearly empty. I counted fourteen 
hearers ; but among these, two had long been known 
to me by name, as having, before this party strife, 
been important members of the congregation, though 
they were now quite forsaken, as they had stead- 
fastly resisted all attempts to estrange them from the 
national Church. One belonged to the Lutheran, 
the other to the Reformed party ; but each lived 
in most perfect harmony with the other, and main- 
tained the true unity of the Spirit while remaining 
firm in his special opinions ; and these good men 
heartily lamented the divisions that were raging 
around them. My sermon dwelt upon the cross of 
the Lord Jesus, as the power of God and the wis- 
dom of God. When the last hymn had been sung, 
these two men came to me in the vestry, and with 
great solemnity said, 'We adjure you before God, 



2 28 My 3Iimsterial Experiences, 

to tell us whether, in the State Church, men are really 
allowed to preach as you have done; and whether, had 
there been one of the authorities or one of the mem- 
bers of the Consistory present, you could have spoken 
thus without risk of being removed from your cure V 
At first I was shocked at the distrust such a question 
showed ; then I seized the Bible that lay before me, 
lifted it up, and repeated what I had before said in 
the pulpit, that, so far as my mind could grasp it, I 
would, through God's grace, keep back nothing, and 
add nothing to that which the mouth of the Lord had 
spoken. The two men folded their hands ; and one 
of them — a little man, with a lively glance — said, 
'Then may God bless your coming among us !' In 
one of the chapels-of-ease I found a tolerable con- 
gregation, but the other was very empty indeed. 

The first i&\Y months spent in this new cure were so 
prolific in experiences of various kinds, that I have 
only got a clear and distinct recollection of certain 
among them, without retaining exactly the order of 
their sequence. Anonymous letters poured in, and 
were often found in the hall before ray study-door. 
I was sometimes rebuked as a lying prophet, a priest 
of Baal, a dumb dog, and so forth ; sometimes single 
texts, on which the Separatists laid great stress, were 
sent me in manuscript ; as, for instance, ' He that 
denieth me before men, him will I deny before my 
Father which is in heaven ;' 'If any man preach 
any other gospel, let him be accursed ;' ' What fel- 



Secession and Revival. 



229 



lowship hath Christ with BeUal %' 'Go out from 
them, and be ye separate,' etc, ; or else ' Cursed is 
the man who maketh flesh his arm,' etc. Other 
letters contained questions ; for instance, ' Are your 
worldly goods dear to you % remember that who- 
soever loveth the world has not the love of the 
Father ;' ' If you know the truth, how can you re- 
main in the false Church % It is your income that 
holds you fast ; but what will it profit a man if he 
gain the whole world, and lose his own souH' Or, 
■ No doubt it is pleasanter to be in the parsonage 
than in prison ; but will it not be better to be in 
heaven than hell % He who does not bear the Lord's 
cross cannot be his disciple.' 

But it was the new Agenda that most especially 
excited distrust and disapprobation ; and I was con- 
tinually called upon to renounce it, and purify the 
Church from false doctrine ; and the more I pro- 
tested that I did belong to the Lutheran Church, the 
more I was tormented with quotations from the 
passages in which the Lutheran doctrines appeared 
to be modified. I used this agenda, however, in 
the same spirit that it was given by the excellent 
King — as a check to the unbelieving, not as a 
strait-jacket to orthodox pastors. It was certainly 
never his Majesty's intention to have its mere letter 
made stringent upon all. I, therefore, chose out of it 
only such prayers and formularies as retained the old 
Lutheran expressions, and did all I could to reconcile 



230 My Ministerial Experiences. 

the people to the book as much as possible, the more 
so as I was allowed to use the ancient fonn at the com- 
munion. For if the assurance, so often given, be 
sincere, and the object of this union is only increased 
peace and concord, then each church must have the 
power to give full expression to its own tenets. Our 
late King wished to set limits to unbelief, not to cir- 
cumscribe or weaken the confession of faith. It was 
the mechanical working out of the scheme by those 
who had no heart in the question that defeated the 
intentions of his Majesty. 

Not long after my arrival in my new cure, a 
cry arose one Sunday morning that Ehrenstrom 
was expected that very day. In the afternoon, 
crowds streamed in on all sides, in vehicles and on 
foot. More than a thousand men were huddled 
together in the market-place. The great gift of 
popular oratory that the man possessed, and the 
persecutions he had endured, gave him dignity and 
might, surrounded him with a halo, till he was actu- 
ally almost worshipped, and each word he uttered 
was received as if from Heaven. It was all the 
old story. ' The Lutherans are the true Church : no 
forgiveness of sins, no sacraments in the other. He 
who would be saved must come to us.' At the close 
of the sermon, the names of his recent converts were 
read out, and they were specially prayed for, as well 
as those who were inwardly convinced that peace was 
not to be found in the United Church, but as yet 



Secession and Revival. 231 

feared the reproach of the cross too much to come 
out of her. The service ended with the whole as- 
sembly singing, in a loud voice and with great emo- 
tion, '■Eiii feste Btirg ist wiser Gotf During the 
following week, I received several letters of renun- 
ciation, which all ran much as follows : — ' As I de- 
sire to be saved, and as God's word is darkened in 
the United [ruinirten) Church, I renounce it hence- 
forth, and return to the Lutheran communion.' Some 
brought these letters themselves, and spoke on the 
subject in a veiy presumptuous and offensive man- 
ner. At first I exerted myself to enlighten these 
people ; but they were so firm in their opinions that 
all attempts of the kind were useless. They kept 
to the one strain : ' If the Reformed Church be the 
true Church, we ought to go over to the Reformed 
altogether ; but if Luther, as you admit, was right in 
his views, we will hold to them. He would not 
be united to the Reformed ; and he was better 
grounded in God's word than the Government, or 
the Consistory, or even than the King of Prussia. 
There is only one way of salvation, and it should 
be clearly and definitely taught. Those who may 
drink pure water need not seek to mix foul with it,' 
etc. etc. If one tried to persuade them that the 
Union was only a symbol of mutual love and tolera- 
tion, they mocked outright, talked of the bayonet 
and sword that had taken part in the controversy 
in Silesia, of the gendarmes and distraints ; and 



232 My Ministerial Experieiices, 

asked whether that was the United conception of 
love and forbearance. In short, I came to the con- 
clusion, that when once the spirit of dissent is fairly 
rooted it is not to be constrained, and that arguments 
are useless. It was very painful to see one after the 
other leave me, and still more to surmise that the 
few who remained did so because they were careless 
about God and his word. Ehrenstrom was, on his 
part, unwearied in his cry, '■ We are the true Church : 
the Lord is with us : although we have been robbed of 
the buildings in which our fathers worshipped, and are 
now obliged to meet in bams, still in those bams we 
have the true Church,' 

At this time, the schools in my district presented 
a very melancholy appearance ; in a class that should 
have numbered from eighty to ninety children I 
found only seven. Although the teachers were 
clever and worthy men, the cry was universally 
raised that the lesson -books used by them had 
been tampered with, and that fables were taught in- 
stead of the word of God. The Phonetic system, 
recently introduced, gave rise to a report that the 
children were obliged to make sounds like cats, 
bears, and swine ; were no longer instructed in the 
way their parents had been ; were brought up, in- 
deed, not as human beings at all, but as bmte 
beasts, and taught to roar, to grunt, and to mew. 
Such, it was averred, were the sad consequences of 
falling off from the old faith ; added to which these 



Secession and Revival, 233 

poor children were expected to learn by heart pro- 
fane songs as well as the accustomed hymns. It 
was vain to seek to set people right on these sub- 
jects ; for they invariably retorted, ' What is the use 
then of all these changes % Were not our fathers 
wise men % Have they not got to heaven without 
any of these new-fangled ways'?' As soon as the 
seceders obtained permission to take the step, they 
began to make great sacrifices to found schools of 
their own. But even after the emigration under 
Ehrenstrom, those seceders who were detained by 
the police were not to be persuaded to send their 
children to the parish school. In Wallmow, in spite 
of the remonstrances of the pastor, a poor widow was 
obliged to do so by the police ; a gendarme in full 
uniform was to be seen by the whole village leading 
the boy into the school, where the worthy master 
gave him a most kind reception, but the lad was off 
in the afternoon. This scene was repeated several 
days running to the great amusement of the villagers, 
but at length the gendarme absented himself, and so 
did the boy. Indeed the indulgence now shown to 
the dissenters came too late, and but increased their 
contumacy. If those unwise measures of Alten- 
stein had not been taken, all this irrational fanaticism 
would never have arisen ; as it was, the seceders had 
the feeling of having been deeply wTonged indeed, 
but also of having conquered ; the concessions made 
them they looked upon only as evidence of this, and 



'234 My Ministerial Experiences, . 

ungraciously and suspiciously received or refused 
them. They proclaimed more and more loudly that 
the churches and their endowments belonged by right 
to them alone, faithful Lutherans as they were. 

After Ehrenstrom had severed himself from the 
Breslau party his endeavour was to get an increased 
hold over his followers, and to make emigi-ation 
a necessity. I sometimes met him in the street, 
and spoke to him, but he always replied with con- 
tumely and ridicule. When he heard that I occupied 
myself a good deal with the few who remained to me, 
and sought to warn them against leaving the church, 
he began to hold me up in his sermons as Satan's 
tool, or as the fat priest, by which latter expression 
he did not allude so much to the dimensions of my 
person, which were inconsiderable to begin with, and 
shrank more and more under the weight of care and 
anxiety which oppressed me night and day, but rather 
to the income he believed my post to bring me in. 
Everything was done by his party to stir up the two 
worthies I have before mentioned to emigrate. One of 
them had a visit from a neighbour and early friend, 
who earnestly besought him to free himself from the 
trammels of the false church and go to America, but 
he returned the following reply : ' As long as the 
Word of God is preached in the church I do not 
stir, unless indeed I could leave my evil nature here 
behind, and not take that along with me to America ; 
in which case I would gladly join you.' 



Secession and Revival. 235 

When I look back to the trying season I am de- 
scribing, it wears a very different aspect to what it did 
at the time. It is always hard to be misrepresented 
and misunderstood, and to a pastor it is especially 
painful to be rejected by those who have themselves 
tasted that the Lord is gracious. The more nearly I 
approximated in faith and feeling to the seceders, 
the more their opposition depressed and pained me. 
Each new letter of renunciation that I received gnawed 
at my heart, and banished sleep from my pillow. 
But now I can adore the wonderful dealing of the 
Lord, which then I could not understand. ' What I 
do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know here- 
after,' said Christ to Peter, but all the same I grant 
that it is hard to sit in darkness and wait for the 
promised light. The church of God is that in 
which God's Word is preached pure and undefiled, 
and the sacraments administered according to His 
ordinance. And now I can see how, after the 
grievous apostasy of his church in our land, the 
Lord by means of sore conflicts restored to her 
one portion of. truth after another. The conflict 
with Rationalism led to deeper study and deeper 
insight into the Scriptures, and to their replacing 
reason as the lamp to our feet, and light to our paths. 
And the Union brought about a struggle for the 
integrity of our creeds, and especially for the truth 
respecting the Holy Sacraments. Nor must we forget 
how much we owe to the faithful witnesses who 



12>^ My Ministcj^ial Experiences, 

stood up for this. Thus it is, that God's ways ever 
lead out of darkness into light, and as Joseph declared 
to his brethren how their evil intentions had been 
overruled for good, so may the daughters of Zion say 
to all their foes. Rationalism led to the old banner 
of the Reformation, — righteousness by faith, not works, 
being again unfurled as the rallying-point of believers, 
and the signal of their triumph. Modern exegesis 
has arisen out of the battle with Rationalism. In like 
manner, the almost forgotten articles of faith of the 
Lutheran Church have been brought to light once 
more, and the rich treasures of earlier days unclosed 
for us. The study of the Reformation has brought 
back among us a living faith ; and Luther's doctrine 
respecting the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, already 
triumphs in the German Church amongst the most 
spiritually minded, and least bound by party con- 
siderations. The task of the present day is to restore 
the sacrament of Holy Baptism to its proper place in 
men's estimation, as a means of grace and salvation. 
Baptism is still too generally a mere family festival ; 
its deeper significance is still too much overlooked. 
But never can the revival, the new birth of a church 
in any particular take place without throes. The 
cross belongs to the church as well as to her Master, 
and wherever old truths assert their lost supremacy, 
or assume new developments, those who confess 
them must consent to pass through the ordeal of 
tribulation and conflict. This fiery baptism has 



Secession and Revival. 237 

hitherto been wanting to the Union, which was called 
into existence by the King, and has always had the 
support of civil authority, and more, which has had 
much evil done in its name. But there may per- 
haps come a time in which another union shall come to 
full maturity, a time in which all other questions shall 
be merged in this : who among us is willing to suffer, 
and even to part with life for the Lord's sake 1 Then, 
all who have suffered shame and persecution for the 
faith will be united in very deed. For, although 
God's grace has not bestowed upon us a spirit of pro- 
phecy, yet the signs of the times do point with in- 
creasing clearness to the development of a nev/ 
heathenism, whether it be called progress, or civilisa- 
tion, or humanitarianism, yea the time seems at hand 
when Atheists, Pantheists, so-called Friends of Light, 
German Catholics, and Reformed Jews, will all be- 
come conscious of their essential unity, and although 
toleration may now be their motto, yet they will not 
long tolerate the Church of Christ. When once the 
majority of voices is fairly established, and the rule of 
the lower has superseded the power of the higher, 
then the apostasy will formally set itself in array 
against the Lord's Church. But this heathenism, 
which threatens us, and is already striving for domi- 
nion in the land, overlooked only by dull eyes, is 
not the same as in the early days of the Church ; 
it carries its sting in its heart, and therefore only 
hates its opponents the more. Wherever it prevails, 



2j8 My Ministerial Experiences. 

no man will inquire about denominational names and 
catechisms, but the true union of all Christians will be 
evident enough. The Lord grant faithful witnesses 
to his Church in those days ! 

This glance into the future is by no means intended 
to weaken the importance of the Lutheran Confession 
of Faith, nay, this will be the banner round which 
Christians, , will especially gather, because it bears 
witness to the eternal word which shall endure when 
heaven and earth have passed away. 

The future is in the Lord's hand, and we know 
that he will order all events to His own glory, and 
has thoughts of peace, not anger to his people. But 
the question for us at the present time is how best to 
keep ourselves free from sin. In spiritual matters 
they only are truly wise who have a penitent heart. 
It is rather a delicate matter just now to preach re- 
pentance to our opponents ; let us therefore be all 
the more faithful in preaching it amongst ourselves ; 
let each of us bow dov/n his own heart daily in true 
contrition, and then see how he may best draw the 
motes out of his brother's eye. The most devoted 
adherents of the Union must admit that the history of 
its origin and progress contains much that does not 
justify boa.sting. The Union, consciously and un- 
consciously, contented itself with indifference amongst 
the clergy, and spiritual slumber amongst the people. 
Although it had its birth in the heart of a truly noble 
king, yet it fell in its infancy into the hands of those 



Secession and Revival. 239 

who heeded the favour of an earthly monarch far 
more than that of the Head of the Church. Bureau- 
crats and eye-servants endeavoured to bring about by 
force what could only result from a loving liberty. 
The hope of reward or advancement elicited the 
most flattering reports, often in the teeth of facts. In 
some towns, processions and celebrations were got 
up amongst those who were otherwise quite indifferent 
to church matters. It is a very alarming symptom 
that the Union should have been especially greeted 
by the children of this world, and that up to this 
present day it should be looked upon by them 
as the banner of Liberalism raised in the Church. 
This being so, one might well pray the Unionist 
not to be quite so self-complacent, and not to 
look down so superciliously on the poor Confes- 
sionists, but rather to remember their own sins, 
done in the name of the Union, from the time that 
the Lutherans were positively persecuted, till the 
present day, when they are obliged to apply for a 
concession, and subjected to conditions that go far 
to compromise the real existence of a Lutheran 
Church. But above all let Lutherans keep their 
ovm spirits free from bitterness ; and conscious of the 
high moral position they hold, let them stay them- 
selves on the promises of God which he has given 
richly, and which in Christ are yea and amen. They 
have need of this caution, for temptations to bitter- 
ness abound, seeing it is not an easy thing to bear 



240 My Alinisterial ExpeiHences. . 

being treated like a tolerated but irksome guest, in 
what was once the dear old paternal home. The 
more the Unionists appeal to ministerial orders, or, as 
in their last proclamations, to the spirit of the times, 
the requirements of the times, the more the latter 
must seek to place their feet firmly on the rock that 
cannot be moved. In our carnal nature there ever 
lies a pleasure in opposition, and the tendency of the 
spirit of the times is a very self-willed one. But true 
Christians will watch and pray especially against a pre- 
vailing danger. Confessionists are often reproached 
with their pride and presumption, but he who sub- 
mits himself to God's Word, and the ordinances of 
the Church, may indeed be bold and confident, but 
can never be presumptuous or proud. In the Evan- 
gelical Church we recognise no supremacy but in 
the Bible and the confessions of faith, the ministers 
and church authorities themselves are subordinate to 
these ; nor can there be presumption on the part of 
those who hold to them alone ; rather they are pre- 
sumptuous who exalt themselves above the letter of 
Scripture, and twirl and turn it to suit their own 
conscience. We must not forget that the Union has 
introduced some theoretical obscurities and perplexi- 
ties from which the Church has to work itself free ; 
let us then work in patience and fidelity each in our 
appointed place, praying much for those whom God 
has set at the helm in these bad and troublous times, 
and not forgetting to submit ourselves to those in 



Secessw7t and Revival. 241 

authority over us according to God's holy will. It 
is no doubt unreasonable to expect a sudden and 
complete uniformity. The Union cannot, like the 
Lutheran Church, claim the dignity conferred by a 
historical existence of more than 300 years, but once 
for all here we have it actually existing ; it has the 
strong support of the State on its side, and more, has 
taken firm root here and there. And although its 
career hitherto has been a way through the wilderness, 
and it has evinced much human alloy, still after all 
Union is the goal of Christianity, the blessing we 
wait for in faith. It is a small thing to the Lord to 
bring about such a development of a feeble germ as 
will turn into light what still seems darkness to our 
vision. 

Meanwhile no one can suppose that he helps on 
such a result, or wins over others by disputing and 
quarrelling, rather it is high time that we all unite in 
genuine repentance. Wherever there are humble 
and penitent hearts, there is true union, and he who 
loves and will promote the cause of such union must be 
ready to acknowledge his own sins, and must fight 
earnestly against flesh and blood. Where any two 
souls cry out simultaneously, ' God be merciful to me 
a sinner,' the partition wall is broken down, and they 
are bound together more firmly by a sigh than by 
the loftiest formulas. They but hinder real union 
prevailing among us who are alvvays haggling about 
v/ords and isolated expressions, and who want to 
Q 



242 My Ministerial Exfieriefices. 

take down the old house before the new one is built 
Yes, they who would weaken and undermine the 
force of the old Confession of Faith before a new and 
comprehensive one is born, — we will not say 7nade, — 
are the enemies of the good cause. And once more, 
let those who stand up for the Confession, and love it 
best, love all the children of God upon earth as well, 
let them never despise whom the Lord has chosen. 
We have had enough of envy and strife, let us now seek 
to emulate each other in love, while careful to main- 
tain the truth : the more clearly the truth is discerned 
the more strongly should love be felt. He who is 
firm in the faith may well have a heart of expansive 
affections. We shall reach our high aim of union, 
not by seeking to pare down the ancient confessions of 
these nearly related churches to a co7ise?isus, but by 
following after that obedience to God's word which 
they both alike require. We shall feel this union 
most intimately when contending with our common 
enemy, who in these days rears his head boldly 
amongst us. Union on either side with the world, or 
philosophy falsely so called, or the self-righteous 
spirit of the day, can never help on the union of the 
churches. Love is not to be commanded, not to be 
had by compulsion of any kind ; it is a free gift that 
one truly penitent heart will willingly offer to another, 
for the Lord has said that he will dwell with such, 
and where he comes he brings ^vith him his peace, 
which passes understanding. No power of this world, 



Secession and Revival. 243 

no wisdom of this world can bind hearts truly to- 
gether ; this is only possible to the grace of Him who 
can turn them like to the water-brooks, till they flow 
together beneath the breath of peace that comes from 
his cross. Thus the Lord worked in the War of 
Liberation, when three princes, now in glory, bent 
their knees together to thank the God of battles for 
their victory won, and to conclude that holy treaty 
which was of course a great offence to the world and 
the devil, because founded on Christ. The union 
before the union of 1817 was the right one, and the 
authorities could have done nothing better than to 
leave it alone, and appoint pious men in church and 
school. Experience shows us how in the dark times 
a faithful pastor was sought and loved in Pomerania, 
the March, and elsewhere, and how the people would 
flock miles to hear him. ' Through quietness and hope 
shall ye be strong.' Force and diplomacy, let them 
come whence they will, whether from France or Berlin, 
will only bring trouble and division into the Church. 
Melancholy as was the state of things I have been 
painting, the storm in the March was followed by a 
refreshing rain. After the emigration with all its 
heart-rending particulars was over, the great point 
was to win back those that remained. I soon 
came to the conclusion that each seceder required 
special treatment according to his circumstances and 
character. Some viewed the matter merely from the 
point of view of the intellect, and, arguing that the 



244 ^^y Ministerial Experiences, 

Union was an infringement of the rights of the 
Lutheran Church, had joined the secession. Others, 
again, were perplexed and distressed by the idea that 
the Union obscured the truth, and so endangered 
souls. These last could not understand the purpose 
of it, since the Reformed party remained as separate 
as before, ministered to by a pastor of their own, and 
at the celebrations of their sacrament declining to use 
the altar but bringing their own tables into the church. 
Hence it was feared that there must needs be in the 
background some purpose to deprive the Lutheran 
Church of its ancient creeds as well as rights. This 
horror of the Agenda was so increased that the very 
sight of it was pain and grief to them. Now, the 
first of these two parties was quite unmanageable, 
full of hatred and bitterness, so that there was no- 
thing for it but letting it alone till it came round of 
itself It was blinded by spiritual pride, strong in 
controversy but without depth of religious feeling. 
The second party, on the other hand, needed com- 
fort, listened willingly to God's word, only a deep 
mistrust and timidity held them back, and this was 
only to be gradually overcome by giving them what 
their hearts required. On the whole, it might be said 
that secession was now at a stand-still, and it re- 
mained so till the fresh impetus given to it by the 
lamentable measures of the General Synod of 1848, 
which, however, are now themselves gone the way of 
all flesh. 



Secession and Revival. 245 

My dear neighbour and brother in the ministrv' 
had taken the right way, and by means of weekly 
and evening services dispensed the word of God 
richly to the remnant of his congregation, and thus 
kept them together. For my part, a journey that I 
took to attend the Conference at Trieglafif (at the 
time when Ehrenstrom. and the Breslau party split) 
was attended with blessing. The common tribula- 
tion led to the assemblage of many brothers from a 
great distance, especially from Pomerania. Our 
position was discussed lucidly and in the spirit 
of prayer and repentance. The fellowship and bro- 
therly love I met with gave me new life. Herr 
von Thadden, with his knightly bearing sanctified 
by the gospel, was to me a most imposing per- 
sonality, and the love that seemed to unite all our 
members gave me a convincing proof that the 
Lord was with us of a truth. Upon my return I in- 
stantly began to hold prayer- meetings in my own 
house on Wednesday evenings, which were soon so 
well attended that the rooms were not large enough, 
and the windows were opened so as to allow those 
who were standing in the street to hear what 
was going on. Those who had left off coming to 
church, holding it to be a polluted place, stood at 
first irresolutely and timidly at a distance, and very 
slowly drew nearer. When the prayer-meeting was 
held in the large school-room they followed thither, 
but though there was accommodation for about a 



246 My Ministerial Experiences, 

hundred people it was soon found insufficient, and 
the only thing to be done seemed to move next into 
the church. My most faithful adherents were indeed 
a little anxious as to the result, but, however, it was 
finally given out that the prayer-meeting on the fol- 
lowing Wednesday would take place in the church. 
Before it came round a rumour had arisen that Ehren- 
strom was to make his appearance on that very same 
day. Soon after noon the seceders began to assemble, 
Ehrenstrom made his entry about five o'clock, in a 
carriage drawn by four handsome horses, and was 
greeted with profound respect. His sermon began 
about six o'clock, the market-place being densely 
thronged by a multitude who sang the old thrilling 
hymn, ' O Lord of heaven, on us look down,' at the 
top of their voices. About seven, the church-bell 
began to ring for my prayer-meeting. The church 
was very empty. I addressed the few there upon 
the text, ' The flesh lusteth against the spirit.' 
Gradually others dropped in, till about nine o'clock 
the large church was quite crowded. I had felt my 
position among the people at stake, and had accord- 
ingly spoken wath increasing emotion. Ehrenstrom 
had, in his accustomed manner, railed against the 
United Church, had bestowed all manner of oppro- 
brious epithets on me, and when it began to rain, and 
he saw several of his hearers rush into the church, he 
had broken out into the most furious strain, had 
called the church a pig-sty, and me a shepherd of 



Secession and Revival. 247 

swine, a lying parson, a priest of Baal, etc., till his 
own followers even were displeased with him. At the 
conclusion of my sermon, I asked the assembly to de- 
cide between us. The excitement had by this time 
risen so high that my voice could hardly be heard 
above the general sobbing and weeping. I demanded 
an answer, and had so put my question that a simple 
affirmative was sufficient. When I ceased there 
pealed forth such a hearty Yes from the people, that 
I fell on my knees, and the whole assembly with me, 
and with tears of thanksgiving offered up the parting 
prayer, and devoted myself anew to my Lord and 
Saviour to be his faithful servant to my life's end. 
Ehrenstrom meanwhile shook the dust off his feet, 
and never came again into my district. 

That evening exercised a very marked influence 
both on the members of the church and of the 
chapel-of-ease, which latter had been as yet much 
less affected by the prevalent excitement. On the 
following Sunday both churches were full, and the 
prayer-meetings also were numerously and cordially 
attended. Indeed, so strong an impression had been 
produced in the neighbourhood, that the church 
accommodation became sadly inadequate, the pulpit 
steps and even the pulpit itself being often quite filled 
before the first hymn. Although the church was a 
new building, some anxiety was felt about the galleries, 
and they were propped by new iron supports. The 
order observed in the prayer-meeting was very simple. 



248 My Ministerial Experiences. 

First of all a hymn was given out and sung, two lines 
at a time ; then came the prayer, the reading and ex- 
pounding of a passage of Scripture, a longer prayer, 
at which we all knelt, and the last verse of the hymn 
with which we had begun. The service lasted from 
about seven to nine o'clock. The contributions for 
lighting the church in the winter time were most 
liberal. People thronged in from the neighbouring 
villages ; and when the prayer-meeting was over, it 
Avas really imposing to hear them sing their favourite 
hymns on their homeward way. 

During the first half-year I sought as much as pos- 
sible to concentrate attention upon conversion, and 
chose such narratives out of Holy Writ as should 
place the call and illumination from above, justification, 
repentance, faith, and prayer, in most vivid colours 
before the minds of the people. I divided the history 
of the Prodigal Son into several sections: his leaving 
the father's house, his life in the far countr}^, herding 
swine, coming to himself, arising, returning, and the 
running of his father to meet him, were all made the 
subject of several successive discourses. Then, again, 
I took Paul's persecution of Christians, Paul's con- 
version, Paul's labours; the repentance, faith, and 
love of Peter ; these and other narratives in the Old 
and New Testament were thoroughly explained and 
applied to the hearts and lives of my hearers; to 
which I added doctrinal teaching as to the means of 
grace, the Word of God, law and gospel, coufession, 



Secession and Revival. 249 

and the holy sacrament. Later, I expounded the 
Acts of the Apostles, and the several articles of the 
Augsburg Confession. According to my experience, 
it is not desirable to go through whole books of the 
Bible at the beginning of a series of prayer-meetings ; 
it is better to dwell simply on the way of salvation, and 
illustrate it by naiTative. This is more easily impressed 
upon the memoiy, and tells more on daily life. Many 
who attended my meetings had, indeed, during their 
preparation for confirmation, been taught the catechism, 
but in a manner that had left the way of life obscure to 
their minds, and others had entirely forgotten all they 
had once learned. The one question to which a clear 
and definite answer must be returned in the course of 
every prayer-meeting is this : ' What must I do to be 
salved f The continuous exposition of whole books is 
very well for more advanced congregations; but where 
spiritual life is just beginning to stir, the main point is 
to insist upon conversion, and to give illustrations 
taken from the history of missions and of daily life. 
A few annual reports of the Basle Missionary Institu- 
tion rendered me good service, and I found anecdotes 
there that I had to repeat over and over again, the 
people took such delight in hearing them. 

After a few weeks of this course, a few individuals 
were awakened to repentance, and their concern for 
their souls was such that they wept abundantly, and 
spent hours on their knees imploring the Divine 
mercy. Many of them came to me, but it was very 



250 My Mi7iisterial Experiences. 

hard to comfort them. ' Our sins are too many,' they 
would say ; ' we have sinned against the Holy Spirit, 
we are lost, we cannot appropriate forgiveness ;' these 
were their constant complaints. Their anguish was 
complicated too with doubts as to whether ours was 
the true church, and some of them went to Ehren- 
strom, who continued to haunt the neighbouring vil- 
lages, and heard from him that salvation was impos- 
sible in our communion. Accordingly, some seceded 
for the second time, and were received by Ehren- 
strom ; and their formal reception, their severance 
from all old ties and associations, and their belonging 
to a party which was always speaking of its persecution, 
often tended to impress them with an idea of having 
obtained peace, upon which they proclaimed that the 
United Church was forsaken by the Holy Spirit, and 
did all they could to agitate the minds of others. A 
schoolmaster applied to Ehrenstrom, and was, of 
course, at once required to forsake the false church, 
to which requisition he repHed, ' I have a wife and 
several children; what am I to live upon f 'First 
of all come over to us,' said Ehrenstrom, ' and if you 
and^ your family are left to hunger, then throw your 
Bible at the feet of the Lord God, and tell him that 
he has lied.' A young man who was greatly dis- 
tressed by continual temptations to curse and blas- 
pheme the Lord Jesus, and by profane and horrible 
dreams, also went to Ehrenstrom, who told him that 
he was possessed by Satan, and bade him go to his 



Secession and Revival. 251 

pastor, and ask him to cast him out, adding, ' I tell 
you beforehand that he will not be able to do so, 
for Satan has all power in the United Church, and 
the priests have neither courage nor power to cast 
him out' The poor fellow came to me, and I prayed 
with him, but he got no comfort, upon which he went 
back to Ehrenstrom, and his family reported that he 
had returned from him more composed, though in a 
very silent and abstracted mood. The following 
morning, however, he was found dead, having hanged 
himself in the stable. 

During the prayer-meetings there was frequently 
such loud sighing and groaning that it was almost 
insufferable. Many fainted, and had to be carried 
out, and even people of quiet and reasonable charac- 
ter could not resist the contagion. I was often obliged 
to stop and earnestly request them to control them- 
selves. For many evenings there would be perfect 
stillness, and then came another outbreak. One 
striking thing was that some desired to be carried 
out and laid upon the graves. The sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper was ardently desired, and so far as I 
can recollect it was during its reception that the first 
cases got peace. Without any suggestion on my 
part, an earnest need arose for private confession, 
which, indeed, had always been a custom in the old 
Lutheran Church. At first but few came, then num- 
bers : so that these were to me very perplexing and 
painful times. Every one liked to come secretly to the 



252 My Ministerial Experiences. 

parsonage, and several would arrive as late as after 
ten o'clock in the evening ; the circumstantiality with 
which they dwelt upon their sins and their life in 
general took up much time, so that it was often past 
midnight before I could take off my clothes and lay 
m.y weary body down to rest. We often hear of the 
innocence of peasants, but oh v,dth what abominations 
I became acquainted ! Dishonesty and unchastity 
were the two most prevalent sins ; but, on the other 
hand, there were some who seemed to be looking out 
for something to accuse themselves of, and made sins 
of the merest trifles. The anguish of those who had 
sinned against the departed was especially great. 
Old people would tell of faults that they had com- 
mitted against long buried parents. For my own part 
I felt that hearing these confessions increased my 
own self-knowledge, and stimulated me to increased 
prayer. My excitement reached such a pitch as 
frequently to deprive me of all sleep. There is some- 
thing contagious in our intercourse with people in 
such distress. Then, again, I was often in the 
greatest perplexity as to v/hat was to be done with 
the stolen goods brought to me. It is by no means 
desirable in every case that the offender should openly 
confess this fault. There are circumstances in which 
one must dissuade from such a step. A boy came to 
me who was apprenticed to a shoemiaker, whom he 
had cheated of two groschen, and I enjoined him to 
confess this and make restoration, believing the man 



i 



Secession and Revival. 253 

to be sensible and right-minded, whereas he punished 
the poor lad and sent him away. Again, with regard 
to breaches of conjugal fidelity, it is always a danger- 
ous thing to confess such to the offended party, even 
where both are converted people. 

My position in regard to neighbouring pastors be- 
came at this time a very difficult one. The attendance 
of many of their parishioners at my prayer-meetings 
was looked upon with disapprobation, but when these 
began to wish me to administer the Sacrament to 
them, I was obliged positively to decline, else the 
whole movement would have had something of a 
personal and party character. I found it the more 
easy to do this, that Luther has laid it down that 
the worthiness or unworthiness of the minister has 
nothing to do with the efficacy of the Sacrament. 

It is very difficult to give any definite and intelli- 
gible description of the character of the movement as 
a whole. The Spirit bloweth where it listeth, we hear 
the sound of it, but no one knows exactly whence it 
Cometh nor' whither it goeth. At first there was a 
great tendency to Methodism amongst the people. 
One would ask the other for the date of his spiritual 
birth, insist upon his being able to give the day and 
hour of his conversion, to repeat how long his period 
of repentance and distress had lasted, when he had 
laid hold on Christ's merits, and the like. Special 
emphasis was laid on the duration and intensity of 
the period of remorse. Then arose a very energetic 



254 -^y Ministerial Experiences. 

dispute whether in conversion repentance or faith 
comes first, and, as is so often the case, the whole 
difficulty arose from a confusion of terms. The 
question was referred to me, and was only decided 
by a thorough exposition of the subject at the prayer- 
meetings. At that time there was a Jewish family 
residing in the parish ; they too were drawn into the 
current of popular feeling, and came to the meetings. 
I see plainly before me now the figure of one vener- 
able old Jew as he lay on his face on the altar-steps 
and implored forgiveness of his sins. For a long 
time this little band of Jews went on coming to me 
on a Sunday evening, and I used to read them all 
the Messianic passages in the Old Testament. But 
then arose the question whether a Jew could be con- 
verted and saved without being baptized, and this led 
to much controversy on the subject of baptism. Upon 
one occasion when I was unavoidably obliged to be 
absent, and the clerk accordingly had to read, the 
sermon that he chose, though a very good one, did 
not happen to treat the doctrine of the Sacrament in 
the Lutheran fashion. I was very late returning 
home, but I found several people waiting there for me, 
and had to promise them that the book should very 
seldom be read, as it contained false doctrine. On 
another occasion a young preacher gave great dis- 
satisfaction, being understood to say that sanctification 
constituted justification before God. 

One thing that much struck me was the confidence 



Secession and Revival. 255 

the people felt in their own state of grace. That 
they had been really awaked and called by the Lord 
was as certain to them as that they lived, their only 
anxiety was lest by their faithlessness they should fall 
from their present state. While the more cultivated 
brethren felt some difficulty in distinguishing between 
normal moral influences and the work of the Spirit, 
these were on the other hand, distinctly conscious of 
having entered upon an entirely different state, a new 
world ; light had suddenly broken in upon their dark- 
ness, so that they were generally able to give pretty 
exactly the date of their spiritual birth. 

Another characteristic feature was their great con- 
fidence in intercessory prayer ; I have often heard 
them while they prayed, very humbly, but very 
boldly, plead God's promises before His throne, 
perfectly secure that He would grant their petitions. 
'■ Thou canst not help it,' they would say ; ' Thou 
hast sworn it to us ; Thou must needs keep Thy 
word, for Thou art true ; Thou hast Thyself merci- 
fully tied Thine own hands,' etc. Intercession was 
constantly requested, generally during the prayer- 
meetings, and in the following manner : Two groschen 
were wrapped up in a bit of paper, on which was 
written, ' The congregation is earnestly requested to 
put up prayer, that the Lord will be merciful to my 
son, my brother, neighbour, daughter, etc., and en- 
lighten and convert him or her,' as the case might be. 
The name of the petitioner was not given, but these 



2 §6 My Mm zsteria I Experiences. 

bits of paper were generally handed over to me 
by little children, though sometimes the parties them- 
selves brought them, praying for secresy. Here is a 
case in point. An industrious and well-conducted 
man came to settle amongst us, who did not attend 
the prayer-meetings, and but seldom came to church. 
His two neighbours on each side of him, were, as 
they expressed it, seized with tender love for him, 
and determined to put up daily intercessions for him, 
and, meanwhile, to do him every possible kindness 
and seiTice in their power. When at length they 
heard through his children, that it was his intention 
to go to the prayer-meeting on Wednesday evening, 
they requested intercession to be made for a very 
dear neighbour. They met him on the way, sat one 
on each side of him, kept praying for him the whole 
time, and when the whole congregation knelt down 
to take part in the intercessory prayer, the man who 
was the subject of it felt so impressed and shaken, 
that he came to me late that very evening in great 
spiritual concern, to seek comfort for his soul. Again, 
there was an Inspector in the neighbourhood, who 
was much given to ridicule all pious* people. One 
evening he saw an old lame woman, who bore an 
excellent character, limping to the prayer-meeting, 
for which he found great fault with her, declaring she 
might employ the time much better. She replied 
that she had a soul to be saved, which so offended 
the man, that he struck at her with his riding-whip. 



Secession and Revival. i^j 

Not far off was a large stone, beside which she knelt 
down, and prayed that, having been counted worthy 
to receive a blow for the Lord's sake, she might be 
preserved from vain-glory, and that the Inspector 
might be awakened to repentance. A fervent love 
for the man, had, she averred, taken possession of 
her soul. Before the service began she came to me, 
and requested a special intercession. Now, it so 
happened that the inspector had long had a curiosity 
to see how these meetings were carried on, besides 
which, his master had requested him to attend one 
and report to him, so as he happened to have the 
time, he made his appearance among us that very 
evening. The subject under consideration was the 
First Commandment, and the true and living God 
was contrasted with the god of this world. The man 
dressed in frock-coat, with spurs on, and riding-whip 
in his hand, came rather late, found no room, and 
had to stand in the passage ; but the lame old woman 
saw him, and her 'fervent love' impelled her to fer- 
vent prayer.. When the intercession was about to be 
put up he knelt down with the rest, and from that 
time forth he was never absent from a prayer-meet- 
ing, and showed kindness to the old woman. Here is 
a third example : The son of a very old widow, who 
was serving as a soldier, returned to pay his mother a 
visit. A quarrel arose between them ; the poor wo- 
man came to me bleeding from a blow her son had 
given her, and requested prayer to be made that God 

R 



258 My Ministerial Experiences, 

would forgive his grievous sin. When the congre- 
gation knelt down the young man remained standing, 
but he was pricked in his heart, — a hollow sound 
startled us as we prayed. He had fallen down sense- 
less, and had to be carried out. 

The conventicles of former days now revived, and 
were more visited than ever. I had to preach four 
times every Sunday, and had other ministerial work 
besides, but I took great pleasure in going on the Sun- 
day evening to one or other of these assemblies, and 
listening to their fervent prayers. When one who 
had long been absent appeared among them again, 
they had a habit of raising the hymn, ' Hallelujah, 
praise and honour ! ' I determined to do all I could 
to raise still further the two dear brethren, now in 
glory, who led the conventicle worship, in the general 
estimation, by appointing them to receive the collec- 
tions and free-will offerings at the prayer-meetings, 
and, to the best of their judgment, to dispense them 
among the poor of the congregation. They were not 
indeed preachers, but they had salt in themselves, 
and happy is the pastor who finds such coadjutors. 

I advise all pastors, indeed, to appoint faithful and 
judicious men to receive the sums collected, and 
to trust them implicitly in the disposal of them. 
Nothing could exceed the interest these worthies that 
I speak of took in their office ; I have seen them 
stand with folded hands in thankful delight if they 
happened to find a large coin in the bag. I never 



Secession and Revival. 259 

had occasion to regret having unreservedly made 
over the application of these funds to them, nor do I 
remember a single instance of dissatisfaction amongst 
the community at large. The Conventicles, more- 
over, had a certain kind of discipline of their own, 
for, much as they insisted on the imputed righteous- 
ness of the Lord Jesus Christ, yet they did not over- 
look sanctification, and were very thorough in their 
renunciation of worldly pleasures. I remember a girl, 
who had had a pretty shawl given her on New Year's 
Day by her mistress, evincing extreme delight in 
wearing it, but at the next celebration of the Lord's 
Supper she brought it as a free-will offering to the 
Church, because, as she said, she wanted to keep 
herself from all idols. 

Nevertheless we had no lack of sorrowful experi- 
ences either, connected with the movement. Apart 
from the backsliders, who for a short time ran well, 
then relapsed into their old ways, there were those 
who fell into profound melancholy, and our doctor 
often spoke of mania rdigiosa. We had three cases 
of the kind at once. Added to this, some fearful 
events gave rise to the most painful rumours. Two 
girls who had misconducted themselves, and then 
during their pregnancy professed themselves converts, 
could not endure the shame that awaited them ; 
they concealed their condition, and were eventually 
tried and condemned for child-murder. No doubt 
an ungodly girl can far more easily get over both the 



26o My Ministerial Experie7ues, 

sin and its consequences than a poor creature who, 
though she has yielded to temptation, still fears God. 
But the Lord takes count of the tears shed upon 
earth, and preser\^es them against the day of judg- 
ment ; we may be sure that the tears of a poor girl 
treacherously robbed of her honour and her peace, will 
weigh heavily in the scale against her betrayer. It 
makes one very indignant to hear the light tone in 
which many young men dwell upon their o^Ti\ in- 
famous successes of this kind. He who has seen the 
heartbreak of respectable parents, and of the poor 
daughter whom they have brought up in the sweat of 
their brows, cannot help vividly recalling the solemn 
words : ' Woe unto men because of offences ; it were 
better for such a one that a mill-stone were hanged 
about his neck, and he cast into tlie depths of the sea.' 
It is noticeable that villains of this class frequently 
fix upon the veiy girls who are the most modest in 
demeanour, and the most afraid of shame. Landed 
proprietors and men in office ought to keep a most 
strict watch over their agents and subordinates in 
this matter. One single libertine may not only bring 
misery into some particular family, but thoroughly 
corrupt all the youth of the district by his immoral 
conversation and example. I could repeat most 
horrifying facts that have come to my knowledge 
under confession, but this is not the proper place 
for them. It is this sin most especially that deepens 
the great gulf between die kingdom of God and 



Secession and Revival. 261 

of the world, and binds a man in the most degrad- 
ing chains. Should such a hireling of Satan come 
into a parish, the pastor must be on his guard, must 
day by day accuse him to God and man, till at length 
he goes elsewhere or changes his ways. 

A rumour now spread around, and reached the ears 
of the authorities, that the lights were put out in 
the church after evening service, and that the large 
assembly crav/led on their knees round the altar, and 
conducted themselves most indecorously. This re- 
port grew so appalling that at length an inquiry was 
instituted, which, of course, exposed its falsehood, 
and only helped on the movement. It seemed that 
a neighbouring pastor who belonged to the Reformed 
Church could not bear the almost entire desertion of 
his people, and that therefore he had set on foot this 
accusation. In consequence of what came out during 
the inquiry, he had to give up his post. The presi- 
dent of the province himself came, and got all pos- 
sible information on the spot as to the character of the 
movement, and I have thankfully to acknowledge 
his justice and impartiality. Another of my difficul- 
ties arose from Ehrenstrom having so vilified the 
Reformed Church, that many of its members became 
seriously unhappy about its soul -destroying error. 
Now, just as a member of the Government had arrived 
to obtain information respecting all that had occurred, 
a widow belonging to the Reformed Church came to 
me, and said, ' Mr. Pastor, I am come to tell you that 



262 My Ministerial Experiences. 

henceforth I mean to be a Lutheran.' I rephed, 
'Oh, mother D , remain as you are ; you know- 
that you have a monthly allowance from the poor- 
box of the Reformed Church, and you will lose that 
if you leave it' ' I know that,' said she, ' but I want 
to be saved.' I tried to point out her folly in 
speaking as though salvation ^vere not possible in the 
pale of the Reformed Church ; to which she replied, 
' Ay, ay, I know of old people used to be saved in it, 
but it's not so now-a-days.' In short, nothing could 
induce her to give up her purpose. It was natural 
that the lying spirit should take advantage of such 
follies as these to stir up the old animosity between 
Lutherans and Reformed. 

Great as the labour was that I had to undergo at 
this time, the Lord gave me strength sufficient for it, 
and I only remember being on one occasion too 
overwrought to find myself refreshed by the very few 
hours that I was able to spend in bed. The strict 
surveillaiice that every member of the congregation 
exercised over others, and which I could not escape 
any more than the rest, was, I must own, some- 
what inconvenient at times, though no doubt it 
had its good side. Here is an instance of it. I was 
particularly fond of chess, which I had few oppor- 
tunities of playing. A deaf and dumb artist was in 
the habit of paying me a visit on Sunday afternoons 
after the second service, and as to converse with him 
was very laborious, and he played chess remarkably 



Secession a7td Revival. 263 

well, we had on one occasion a game. One of the 
members of my flock chanced to come in while it 
was going on, and looked askance at our employment. 
The following morning the two worthy men I have 
spoken of as the leaders of the conventicle, came in 
very solemnly attired in their Sunday coats, to in- 
quire whether it was true that I was playing with 
wooden dolls on the Sabbath afternoon. I confessed 
it was, and they prayed to be allowed to see the 
dolls. After looking at them closely, they asked me 
whether it was not a sin to amuse myself in such a 
way on the Sunday, and when I would not allow that 
it was, they rephed, ' To play with painted dolls 
(cards) is certainly a sin ; how then can it be other- 
wise than sinful to play with carved dolls?' I 
endeavoured to convince them of the innocence 
of the relaxation, but they held to their point. 
'We will not then discuss with you,' they said, 
' whether it be a sin or be not a sin, but in any 
case we will entreat you not again to play with these 
wooden dolls.' And as I paused a little before I 
would consent to their wishes, they went on, ' Look 
you, to eat meat is certainly no sin, and yet St. Paul 
says, I will eat no meat so long as I live, rather than 
make my brother to offend. If, then, St. Paul could 
give up meat, you may well promise to give up play- 
ing with wooden dolls, because they give offence to 
others.' Upon that I yielded ; they gave me their 
hands, formally pronounced the pledge, and when I 



264 My Ministerial Experiences. 

had repeated it, they knelt down and thanked God for 
having guided me aright. But, however, they took 
my poor chess-men away, and gave them to my Httle 
boy with full permission to play with them with the 
stick he had in his hand. Again, a man discovered 
to be in the habit of working for money on the Sun- 
day, was solemnly rebuked and required to leave off 
doing so, and when he refused he was forbidden to 
attend the Sunday evening meetings. This, however, 
he found so painful that he requested my interces- 
sion with his offended brethren. 

Dealing with the converted is, as I have before 
said, a very difficult part of a pastor's duty; and 
unless he has a pretty accurate knowledge of the 
natural man, he will never know how to deal with 
the spiritual. There is a great difference between the 
treatment required by old and young converts, by 
those who, before their conversion, have led grossly 
immoral or outwardly respectable lives ; by people of 
sanguine or phlegmatic temperament, of lively ima- 
gination or matter-of-fact, prosaic character. It is 
also most important to ascertain whether they have 
received good impressions in youth, or have been 
brought up in ignorance of God and his Word. 
Neither are physical conditions to be overlooked ; 
and those who suffer from indigestion or hypochon- 
driasis will be found especially difficult to manage, 
and will require much tender allowance. In short, 
terrible mistakes may be made without the utmost 



Secession and Revival. 265 

caution, and a thorough acquaintance with original 
character, or in Scripture language, the old majz, for 
it is with him that the battle has to be waged, and it 
is in him that the strength of temptation lies. He is 
not dead, he is only wounded and bound. Our task 
must be to restore and sanctify the original powers 
and tendencies of the man, so as to make the mem- 
bers that were servants of unrighteousness and sin 
servants of hoHness (Rom. vi. 19). Were I to enter 
at large into this subject, I should be led too far ; I 
will only make one general remark. The minister 
must show very great caution in comforting his 
penitents. A man of considerable experience once 
remarked of Ehrenstrom, ' He comforts them all, be 
they ever so lame and crooked.' No doubt there 
is always some cause of joy in that people believe 
themselves awakened ; but St. Peter's rule, that 
Christians should make their election sure by ' all 
diligence,' must be strenuously insisted upon. It is 
only towards the old that we may be a little lavish 
of encouragement, because they have such difficulty 
in attaining to peace. I knew an old man who bore 
a bad character, come under strong conviction when 
he was much past seventy, but he could not find 
peace. I met him once weeping in the fields ; and 
when I asked him whether he could not believe that 
the blood of the Lord Jesus had power enough to 
save him, he replied, ' Yes, I do believe it ; but the 
lost years cry out behind me, the lost years, the lost 



266 My Ministerial Experiences. 

years.' I reminded him of the labourers called into 
the vineyard at the eleventh hour, who yet received 
every man his penny. 'Alas ! ' he exclaimed, 'the Lord's 
mercy is indeed very great, but it is so hard to be- 
lieve that an old sinner can be saved ! ' In short, 
we can never repeat too frequently to the young 
that, although it is not impossible that an old sinner 
should be saved, yet that it is very difficult, and rarely 
comes to pass ; and when it does, the old man or 
woman can hardly ever attain to perfect peace. Old 
wounds easily break out anew, and occasion grievous 
pain. 

Above all, we must insist upon the fruits of genuine 
repentance, restitution, reconciliation, confession, self- 
denial, and forsaking of the old and besetting sin, 
be it what it may. Also there must be great dili- 
gence shown in using all the means of grace. We 
must exhort our converts to let the Word of God 
dwell in them richly, to learn their catechism anew, 
to commit to memory texts and hymns, and to look 
upon conversion as a daily work. Many, we find, 
have a strong tendency to passive indolence. Those 
who are satisfied w^ith a sweet conviction of being 
saved, must be earnestly reminded that fear and 
trembling belong to the Christian life, and stirred 
up to diligence and to the recollection of their sin- 
ful nature. But as there are, and ever will be, on 
earth, the rich and the poor, so indeed it is in the 
kingdom of heaven. There are some who will cry 



I 



Secession and Revival. 267 

Kyrie eleison to their last day, and some who will sing 
Halleluiah. Some eat the bread of tears ; others are 
fed with sweet food. But the Word of God is espe- 
cially for the consolation of the mourners. ' Blessed 
are the poor in spirit,' says the Lord ; and it is 
written that ' they who sow in tears shall reap in joy.' 
There are many who are full of zeal for the conver- 
sion of others, while it is all their pastor can do to 
keep them in any proper subjection and humility. 
The cunning and hypocrisy of the natural heart is 
very subtle in such cases. 

Meanwhile the pastor must not forget that he does 
not merely belong to the awakened, but to the com- 
munity at large. 

He will no doubt find some who are anxious to take 
entire possession of his thoughts and time, and absorb 
him entirely in their own pious circle. Such people 
will be annoyed at his having any intercourse with 
the worldly-minded, or preaching in any other tone 
than their OAvn. But there is a duty imphed in the 
apostle's words, 'all things to all men,' which we 
must by no means overlook. If the pastor looks 
upon the converted only as his flock, it will lead to 
an open split in the community, which will be 
injurious to the religious movement itself, and occa- 
sion its standing still, as events have, alas ! recently 
shown. According to my belief, borne out by expe- 
rience, it is very dangerous to confine any praise- 
worthy undertaking to the converted or half converted. 



268 My Ministerial Experiences. 

The so-called Christian associations, apart from the 
great body of the people, effect little good. I hardly 
know whether I was right in resisting the organization 
of any special missionaiy society, but my beloved 
successor certainly erred in his warm encouragement 
of such. The Church in her healthy character does 
the work of these societies spontaneously: the good 
tree brings forth good fruit. These so-called missions, 
however well-intentioned, will always have a tendency 
to set themselves in opposition to the Church, and 
if the pastor decline unconditionally to follow their 
lead, dissensions and discontent arise. The contri- 
butions to missionary undertakings flow in very 
abundantly without the aid of a special society, and 
the poor and the sick are duly and kindly cared for 
by their families and neighbours. Once a benevolent 
family built a home in our country for old invalids, 
and I remember the remark it elicited amongst our 
people : ' Such a home can only be of use to those 
who have no kith or kin.' This institution at length 
became a refuge for the orphan boys of the whole 
circle. Religious societies are very useful in large 
parishes, and may there form desirable centres from 
whence spiritual life may radiate, but in a small com- 
munity their disadvantages outweigh their advantages. 
They lead to the one great point, the awakening of 
the whole community, becoming too often a secon- 
dary consideration, and they minister to the self- 
righteousness and self-complacency of a small number. 



Secession and Revival. 



209 



For a man's character may undergo a gi-eat out^vard 
improvement without his having experienced a 
thorough conversion of the heart, and such a one will 
always be easily puffed up. 

The pastor must not forget that while to some the 
Word of God is a savour of life unto life, to others it 
proves the savour of death unto death, and he must 
seek to keep himself clean from the blood of those 
who perish. On the other hand, no man can convert 
another, therefore he must beware of thinking, or 
allowing others to think, too highly of his influence. 
Parents will often require of him that he should lead 
their grown-up sons and daughters into a new and 
better way, but there is nothing youth dislikes so 
much as constraint, and v/e must beware above all 
of forcing upon the young the adoption of formulas 
which for them have no real meaning at all. But, 
indeed, according to my experience, boys and youths 
often pretend to be much more irreligious than they 
really are, and seek to conceal their genuine convic- 
tions from, a false shame, more especially if they see 
any great anxiety shown by their elders about their 
regular attendance at church, or their taking part in 
family worship. They, for their part, pique themselves 
upon the amount of their smoking and drinking, 
their bodily strength and prowess. But the pastor 
should be able to see below the surface, and rather 
exhort parents to patience and prayer, than provoke 
the young to run into still further excesses out of very 



270 My Ministerial Experiences. . 

opposition. They have a consciousness that the 
giving their hearts to the Lord must be a free-will 
offering, and resist all attempts made to force their 
affections. Besides, there is very great danger in 
young people anticipating, as it were, their own reli- 
gious experience, and nothing can be so fearful as 
the accustoming them to hypocrisy. Moreover the 
relation of the individual soul to God is always a 
sacred mystery, and the young are especially sensitive 
as to any intermeddling of others therein. Praying 
parents need not afflict or alarm themselves, but let 
them see to it that they are decided in insisting upon 
all such obedience as they may lawfully claim. Autho- 
rity is constantly lost because parents try to exert it 
beyond its proper bounds, and are inclined to waive 
it within them. Pious parents, indeed, will sometimes 
draw a distinction between positive injunctions and 
earnest exhortations, but young people do not see 
much difference between the two, and look upon the 
latter but as a kinder form of command. 

The pastor will always have a very painful and 
difficult office to perform towards those who consider 
themselves reprobate, guilty of the unpardonable sin, 
or unworthy of the Lord's Supper. I would premise 
however, that physical conditions, especially derange- 
ment of the digestive organs, will constantly be found 
at work in such cases, and that the pastor's part will 
be to direct sufferers to the physician, though they 
will generally reject this advice, under the impression 



Secession and Revival. 271 

that their depression and despair roots entirely in 
want of faith. They point to instances of sudden 
joy in believing attained by others, and are discour- 
aged by the contrast of such experiences with their 
own. I remember a case of a deeply concerned and 
depressed man insisting upon his wife accompanying 
him to the prayer-meeting. She did so, but on her 
homeward way she discussed the people she had seen 
there in a thoughtless manner, which much pained 
her husband. During the night, however, she woke 
with a loud scream, and related a fearful dream that 
she had of a burning spot on the wall which spread 
and spread till it became a fiery abyss, while a 
voice cried out, ' Hither wilt thou come unless thou 
art converted.' A great terror fell upon her; I was 
called in, and found her in a high state of feverish 
excitement, which all my attempts were powerless to 
allay, but that very evening she came to me in great 
delight, praising and thanking God for having forgiven 
her all her sins, and given her peace for Christ's 
sake. The .poor husband on the contrary, became 
more and more unhappy, looked upon his condition 
as hopeless, and began to apply all Scripture passages 
that treat of election to the proving himself reprobate. 
Many are the temptations of physical want, but spiri- 
tual poverty is the saddest thing of all. There are the 
gifts of God free to all, there are the means of grace 
open to all, and yet such a disparity in spiritual 
condition ! Why should this be % God only knows 



272 My Ministerial Experiences, . 

why he has given to this man one talent, to that other 
two, and why to one should be appointed the sowing 
in tears, to another the reaping in joy. Meanwhile 
the best thing we can do is, as much as possible, to 
keep these depressed brethren busily employed in 
their earthly calling, to enjoin regularity in all means 
of grace, and to give them every opportunity of doing 
whatever lies within their power to further God's cause. 
It is very good for such to be employed in visiting the 
sick and dying ; in seeking to comfort these they will 
practically attain more and more to comfort them- 
selves \ they will discover that their godly sorrow is a 
proof, though a painful one, of their state of grace. 
One should have great patience and tender sympathy 
with people of this stamp. It is no easy matter 
always to remain a miserable sinner, always to live as 
a dependent beggar, always to feel one's weakness 
and one's wretchedness. A few weeks of such 
conscious destitution may be patiently borne, but long 
years of it are a heavy burden. Not to see and yet 
to believe, not to feel and yet to believe, is hard to 
the natural heart, which would fain have some little 
righteousness of its own to bring before the Lord, 
and would fain experience also somewhat of His 
gracious approval. 

As I have said before, v/hen children are bom there 
is always much crying, much weakness, much sickness, 
and great patience is required in the nursing and 
rearing of them. We must make a mother's love in 



Secession and Revival. 273 

the care of her puny and suffering infant our study. 
At a time of revival there must unavoidably be much 
that is morbid and spasmodic. I had I know pecu- 
liar trouble with those whose conviction was a very 
sudden thing. For instance, young people would 
come and attend the prayer-meetings out of mere 
curiosity. At first they paid little attention to 
what was going on, soon they grew more earnest, 
then they began to sigh very deeply, and finally, 
many of them fell down in strong convulsions, and 
had to be carried out. I know no other expression 
to use, than that the spiritual excitement seemed to 
be contagious. During their convulsions the converts 
would use many unintelligible words, but they would 
also describe the plague of their own hearts very 
forcibly, and cry out for grace and mercy. Many 
there were too who were grievously tormented by the 
devil, and complained of having the most fearful 
visions. Some looked upon themselves as having 
been actually possessed in past years while committing 
different sins; others could plainly see the devil within 
them at the present time, tempting them to evil. A 
poor ragged mechanic from Bavaria, came one Wed- 
nesday afternoon to our village, and asked for work 
from a tradesman, whose wife took compassion on the 
wanderer, and set something to eat before him, requir- 
ing however that he should say a prayer beforehand. 
This he declined, but when he was expressly informed 
that he could have the food on no other terms, he 
s 



274 ^y Ministerial Experiences. 

made an attempt to repeat the Lord's Prayer, but 
found he had forgotten it. When evening came, the 
tradesman requested the stranger to accompany him 
to the prayer-meeting, but received for reply, that he 
had made a vow never to enter a church again, to 
which the good man rejoined, that it was mdeed folly 
to make such a resolve, but far greater folly to keep 
it, and finally announced, that unless the man con- 
sented to go he would obtain no work from him. They 
entered just as I was describing the return of the pro- 
digal, how he stood on the summit of the last hill and 
saw the forsaken father's home lying before him, he 
meanwhile without shoes on his feet, in ragged clothes, 
and overwhelmed with distress and shame ; the remem- 
brance of the happy youth spent in that home drawing 
him on, fear of his father's displeasure holding him 
back, till at length, though still a great way off, his 
father saw him, ran to meet him, etc. Suddenly, the 
young stranger fell do\vn, his limbs were frightfully 
convulsed, he foamed at the mouth, and hideous 
sounds were heard. A shudder ran through the 
assembly, some screamed, others fell on their knees 
and prayed aiOud for mercy. The poor creature was 
carried out. I watched beside him all night, and 
had a doctor called in to attend him. At length he 
grew more composed, and seemed as though he would 
gladly listen to prayer, but his face was soon distorted 
and his limbs convulsed again. If I commanded him 
very loudly in the name of the Lord Jesus to be still. 



Secession and Revival. 275 

he would be quiet for a little time. Towards the 
morning he fell asleep, lying with hands folded, ap- 
parently much exhausted. But the next night the 
tradesman called me up, for he could not tolerate the 
way the youth was going on, tearing and raging all over 
the house. When I came, I found the stove broken 
to pieces, and the bed on which he lay torn to shreds, 
with the feathers scattered around. He maintained 
that the devil had done it ; he had sold himself to the 
devil, who would never let him go. I scolded him 
severely, and told him he should be bound if he went 
on in such a mischievous way. As long as I remained 
with him he was quiet, but his paroxysms threatened 
to return each time I tried to leave him. Several 
pious men took to watching him at night till he grew 
better and began to work. Still he often complained 
of severe temptations to blasphemy and contempt of 
the holy sacrament. However, his gift of prayer, and 
his facility in writing hymns, won him favour at the 
conventicle. His undutiful conduct to his mother 
often pressed upon his conscience, and all of a sudden 
he was seized with a strong yearning for home. One 
morning he came and told me that his mother had 
called him loudly during the night, and that he posi- 
tively must set out to go to her. While he was getting 
himself ready, and a collection being made for him 
amongst the community, he received a letter from his 
sister announcing the death of his mother, who had 
longed intensely for him during her last hours. 



276 My Ministerial Experiences. 

Later, he went over to worthy Pastor Gossner, who 
sent hmi out as a missionary, if I remember rightly, 
to AustraHa. 

Rehgious books were much sought after at this 
time, more especially old ones, for modern works 
were generally suspected of being unsound. The 
spirit of speculation amongst Jews was oddly deve- 
loped in connexion with this fact. A Jew went 
round in the more remote villages, bought up old 
homilies and hymns, and then betook himself to a 
community in which there had been a revival, and 
sold his wares to great profit. I have myself heard 
him, in order to recommend his goods, read out with 
great pathos to the bystanders passages treating of the 
depravity of human nature, and of redemption through 
Christ's blood. The sermons of Schubert and Brast- 
berger; the Pastoral Hymns of Kleinert ; the Way to 
Heaven, by V/erner ; the Times of Refreshing, by 
Miiller ; Bogatzky's Treasury, and Starke's Prayer 
Books, were the works most greedily sought after. 

As I had at this time to preach four sermons on 
Sunday, as well as to hold my Wednesday evening 
service, and was not unfrequently called upon to 
speak at a meeting in some private house besides, it 
was impossible that I should always write down 
or even very carefully prepare my discourses. To 
preach the same sermon twice did well enough, but 
three times was rather too much, and four times 
quite out of the question, when I had to preach 



Secession and Revival. 277 

twice to the same congregation. In my former 
cures, where I had to preach three times in different 
churches, I had been accustomed carefully to pre- 
pare one sermon, and to plan a second one pretty 
completely. In the first year I devoted my chief 
attention to a. course of sermons on the gospel for 
the day, in the second to the epistles, and during the 
third year I made choice of detached texts. In these 
three cures the hours of divine service alternated 
between eight, eleven, and one. Accordingly, in 
whichever church the earliest service was held I de- 
livered my most carefully composed discourse, in the 
next that which I had only sketched out, and in the 
third I repeated the sermon that had seemed to make 
the most impression. When it came to my preaching 
four times a day, I had to prepare three separate 
discourses, and in the afternoon I generally chose 
some section of the Catechism for my subject. The 
attempt to substitute catechising for the afternoon ser- 
mon, however, did not answer, the congregation ex- 
pressing their decided preference for the latter. I have 
been often asked how it was possible for mind or body 
to undergo such fatigue, and this is my reply : As to 
bodily strength I protest I never found it once taxed, 
either in the great heat of summer or the still more 
extreme cold of winter. Only I had to make one 
fixed rule, and that was to eat as little as possible 
between sermons, and, if I could get time for it, 
nothing refreshed me so much as a little nap before 



278 My Ministerial Experiences. 

the afternoon service. And as to any excessive men- 
tal wear and tear, I equally reject the idea. The 
varied experiences of the week afforded me by my 
intercourse with the awakened, the tempted, and the 
sick, invariably opened out to me new views of the 
misery of our state by nature, the wondrous dealings of 
God with souls, and the converting power of his Word. 
The more intimately I knew mdividual cases, and 
their special needs, the more easy I found it to ex- 
tract from the text before me something appropriate 
either for their warning or consolation. My long 
sight was of great use to me in this, I could read upon 
the countenances of my more devout hearers the im- 
pressions made upon their hearts, and thus I felt 
myself as it were e7i rapport with them, and the train 
of my thoughts grew more distinct and vivid. In 
short, once in the pulpit, having given out the text, 
and looked down upon the loved and familiar faces, 
materials never failed me. 

The prayer-meetings, however, required more pre- 
paration than the sermons. When I saw people 
coming from a distance, after all the burden and 
heat of a laborious day, saw how farm-servants would 
go on Wednesday mornings to their work before day- 
break in order to gain permission from their masters 
to attend the meeting in the evening, I could not but 
feel deeply humbled and betake myself to prayer. 
How poor and empty and anxious I have often felt 
when I first entered the prayer-meeting, but as soon 



Secession and Revival. 279 

as I heard the loud and beautiful singing, and saw 
the crowd hungering and thirsting after righteousness 
stand around the altar, I could lift up my heart in 
confidence to the Lord, and feel that if not for my 
sake, yet for the sake of those poor souls, he would 
have mercy on me. I do not remember seeing one 
single person asleep during these prayer-meetings. 

The selection of a detached text is always a diifi- 
cult and perplexing thing. Generally speaking I 
have found that sermons on the gospel for the day 
were the most popular, both because the subject was 
more familiar, and also because it served as a sort of 
date. Country people have a habit of saying, when 
this or that gospel comes round such and such work 
has to be done, or in the week following this or that 
gospel, this or that child was bom, died, etc. Once 
when I had given a long course of sermons on the 
epistles, the bailiff came to me in the name of the 
congregation to beg I would take up the Evangelists 
again, as they wished to remain an evangeUcal con- 
gregation, and because it was plain from their sermon 
books that in old times ministers always preached 
from the gospels. Generally speaking I used to let 
myself be guided in my choice of a detached text 
by a reference to the leading idea of the particular 
Sunday ; for each Sunday has by its position in the 
sacred year, and by the connexion between its epistle 
and gospel, some special significance of its own. 
There is wonderful ingenuity displayed in the con- 



28o My Ministerial Experiences. 

struction of our services, and the more carefully we 
examine into the reasons why this epistle was asso- 
ciated with that gospel, and both appointed to this 
particular Sunday, the easier we shall find it to 
choose a text in harmony with the proper spirit of 
the day. 

There is another point that I cannot pass over, 
namely, the great importance of punctuality in begin- 
ning divine service both in the parish church and the 
chapel-of-ease. Unpunctuality on the part of the mini- 
ster is an inexcusable act of impoliteness to the con- 
gregation, and invariably tells upon their attendance. 
I know indeed how many difficulties there are ; the 
roads are bad, the clocks differ, there is a baptism 
here, a visitation of the sick there, all manner of hin- 
drances, in short ; but I also know that they all give 
way before a proper resolve to do right in this par- 
ticular. For my own part, in. order to cut myself off 
from all possibility of unpunctual habits, I gave the 
sacristan directions always to begin at the proper 
moment, whether I was there or not ; and the con- 
sequence was that I generally arrived a little before 
my time. This strict rule of mine was gratefully 
acknowledged, and it never occurred to any one to 
try to detain me at either place of worship ; but if a 
parishioner had something urgent to say, he jumped 
into the carriage, and drove a little way with me. 
Besides, I was in the habit of paying a weekly visit 
to the district-school ; and as it got known through 



Secession and Revival. 281 

the children that I was there, people took advantage 
of that opportunity of consulting me. In winter-time, 
when the roads were, in my faithful servant's opinion, 
too heavy for the carriage, we used both to ride off 
early, often in the dark, he carrying the lantern, and I 
following ; but in summer he used to be glad to remain 
at home, so I went off alone, but he never failed to 
rouse me in such excellent time, that I was generally 
a quarter of an hour too soon. Indeed, punctuality 
on the part of the pastor is, on all occasions, indis- 
pensable ; at baptisms, marriages, but, above all, at 
funerals, he should never have to be waited for. Least 
of all should he ever let himself be delayed by a visit 
to the patron, or to any kind of dignitary, such indiffer- 
ence to the feelings of the people, and care for his own 
comforts, being always resented as a bad sign. He who 
keeps his flock waiting for him unsettles them, till at 
length they hardly know when they themselves ought to 
be ready, the pastor being always late. I remember a 
member of a certain congregation begging his pastor 
to be sure and come early, and when the latter made 
sundry excuses, the man replied, ' But when you are 
invited to dine with the quality, you always get there 
in right time.' Unless one can have proper com- 
mand over one's-self, one is liable to observations of 
this kind. In many congregations the impropriety 
of coming into church late has become customary. 
The building is positively almost empty at the begin- 
ning of the service, and people drop in after the 



282 My Ministerial Experiences. 

Liturgy, or during the last psalm. But how can the 
pastor remonstrate if he himself has set the example 
of unpunctuality % 

The revival of which I have been treating exercised a 
very favourable influence over the schools. The school 
had become an isolated concern ; the civil authorities 
looked upon it as a heavy burden, always requiring fresh 
outlay, now for the repair of the schoolhouse, now for 
the maintenance of the schoolmaster. Collisions be- 
tween the Magistrates and the Educational Board had 
led to mutual alienation, and even contempt. The 
schools were universally ill attended ; the parents ex- 
pected no blessing from them for their children ; 
viewed them merely as oppressive institutions, in- 
tended to extract money from them, and to unfit 
their families for useful work. The means employed 
to correct this impression were fines and even im- 
prisonment for recusant parents, and of course such 
means defeated themselves. The Separatists were 
constantly railing against the schoolmaster or the 
school-books ; and even those who did not belong 
to their body, were glad to quote these objections to 
justify their own conduct in keeping back their chil- 
dren. The Fibel of Otto Schultz, one of the books 
prescribed by the authorities, provoked great oppo- 
sition, on account of the tales and fables it contained, 
and was denounced as the frivolous Fibel, or the 
UnmUs Fibel, all abuses whatsoever in church or 
school being laid to the charge of the Union. 



Secession and Revival. 283 

Many, indeed, pertinaciously refused to buy the 
book, upon the plea that it contained false doctrine, 
perverted the children from the simplicity of God's 
Word, and taught them worldly wisdom and cunning; 
and when at length they were compelled to get it, they 
cut out ail the pages that displeased them, as being 
unsound ; and so, very little was left of the entire 
Fibel, and the binding looked like a large coat hang- 
ing about a thin man. The children used to explain 
its appearance thus : ' Father has been improving 
Fibel' Herr Striez, of the Board of Education, who 
took a right view of the religious excitement of the 
time, and warmly sympathized with my difficult posi- 
tion, made a change among the schoolmasters, and 
four men were appointed to my school who had 
been m^ost carefully chosen with special reference to 
the peculiar wants of the day. I, on my part, was 
not wanting in entreaties and exhortations both from 
the pulpit and in private houses, and my daily visits 
to the school were not without effect either ; so that 
gradually the attendance improved. We had a public 
examination, at which the town representatives and 
several heads of families were present, and the way 
the children acquitted themselves on the occasion, 
removed prejudices that had been widely entertained. 
Small as were the funds in the power of the man- 
agers, yet a considerable present was made to the 
masters. And so the victory was won, and the 
general interest in the school received a new and 



284 My Ministerial Experiences. 

happy impulse. Every Sunday evening the teachers 
assembled in my house to discuss in an open and 
unconstrained manner the circumstances of church 
and school, one of the party having prepared a short 
paper upon these, which served as the special sub- 
ject of our conversation. It was from these friendly 
conferences that the Preparatory Institute arose, 
which soon increased and prospered, and was very 
successful in its labours. It was a real delight to 
see how its members would vie with each other in 
instructing each about ten or twelve children of the 
lower classes. The instruction that they themselves 
received was obtained either from the schoolmaster 
or from me, according to their special needs and 
capabilities. 

These members lived in the town, and the small 
sums they paid for their instruction went to raise the 
schoolmasters' salaries. The desire that several 
young people felt to employ their winter evenings in 
some useful manner led to the establishment of an 
evening school, which had been previously discussed 
and approved in our Sunday evening conferences. 
The interest it excited far surpassed our expectations ; 
even married people and heads of families would 
come and take their places on the school-benches. 
Religious history, geography, arithmetic, and letter- 
writing were the chief subjects of our teaching. A 
theological candidate, who was my children's do- 
mestic tutor, was very zealous in lending his assist- 



Secession and Revival. 285 

ance ; our excellent organist gave instructions in 
singing, and he discovered that there were several 
beautiful voices amongst our young people. The 
congregational singing, and especially the chanting, 
gained greatly in consequence, and it became a real 
delight and means of edification to listen to the 
beautiful old choral songs. This organist had the 
tact and good taste to be satisfied with simple music, 
and not to undertake anything that suggested a fear 
of the performers breaking down. Great attention 
was paid to hymns, which were particularly popular 
among the people. The necessity of teaching needle- 
v/ork to the girls that attended the evening school 
led to about twelve ladies uniting for the purpose, and 
coming twice a week to give instruction in sewing, 
knitting, cutting -out, etc. As only two of these 
ladies attended at the same time, it did not much 
interfere with the domestic duties of any one of them, 
and their husbands or fathers made no objection. 
As for the children, they came in great numbers to 
this evening school, and their parents soon found 
the benefit and comfort of it. 

In this way the school-house was filled almost all 
the day through, and the school was no longer an 
unpopular and arbitrary institution, but an object of 
loving gratitude and solicitude to the congregation. 
The teachers who readily and cheerfully undertook 
this increase of work were duly honoured and valued. 
The people in their own houses and amongst them- 



286 My Ministerial Experiences. 

selves spoke respectfully and gratefully of them, and 
did all they could to support their discipline. I re- 
member these four men with thankfulness, and can- 
not recal one word of difference ever rising between 
us. Our regular conferences strengthened our mutual 
regard and confidence, and also our love and interest in 
the congregation. Wherever there is life in the church 
the school is sure to prosper. Wherever the parents 
love the church, the children love the school also. 

In conclusion, I will give two or three sketches of 
everyday life amongst us at this time. 

A man who was living with a woman, not his wife, 
and was much given to drunkenness, was awakened. 
The first thing he did was to get properly married, 
and wholly to give up brandy ; but he had been so 
long used to the stimulant that he had terrible physi- 
cal suffering to endure from the sudden change, and 
was only supported by constant prayer. Upon the 
occasion of a visit that he paid to certain of his 
relatives, he met with a great deal of ridicule on 
account of his having grown pious and left off brandy, 
and at length, to show that he was a free agent, he 
consented to drink a small quantity. At once the 
old temptation came upon him in full force, and he 
got drunk. I have scarcely ever seen a man so down- 
cast and depressed as he was in consequence of this 
fall, and much time and tender consolation were 
needed to restore him. He now made a rule of 
putting by all the money that he would formerly have 



Secession and Revival. 287 

consumed in drink. At the end of a year he showed 
me, with much dehght, the amount of his savings, 
and the new coat that he bought therewith was in- 
deed a true robe of honour. 

A woman, whose husband was in the habit of spend- 
ing his week's wages, in gaming and drinking at the 
pubhc house, on Saturday evenings, led a very wretched 
and very quarrelsome married life. But sorrow and 
God's word together changed her heart; she grewgentle 
and patient, and bore her heavy cross in a strength 
not her own. While her husband was at the tavern, 
she would keep crying to God, who can turn the 
heart of man at his will. One evening her husband 
came back earher than usual ; he had got into a dis- 
pute with his companion about the game they were 
playing. From words they had come to blows, and 
he had been knocked down. His wife received him 
most kindly, prepared him as good a supper as ever she 
could, and then took up Starke's prayer-book to read 
the evening benediction. Her husband listened and 
then went to bed, but there was no sleep for him that 
night. He woke his wife saying, ' Mother, I am too 
wretched, I can bear it no longer ; I shall certainly 
be lost' The good woman began at once, in full 
confidence of faith, to return thanks to the Hearer of 
prayer, while her husband went on imploring grace 
and forgiveness. With many tears he asked his 
wife's pardon for all the wrong he had done her, and 
went to kiss his sleeping children. His wife on her 



288 My Ministerial Experiences. 

part confessed with all humility that she had been 
equally to blame for her quarrelsome temper, and 
prayed him to forgive her. The next morning at 
breakfast he burnt his pack of cards. Great was the 
joy of the poor woman, v/ho used often to declare 
that she had the best husband in all the world. 

The son of a pious man enlisted in a regiment of 
the guards. His father accompanied him to his 
quarters, exhorted him to remember his daily prayers, 
and on parting from him, spoke as follows : — ' My 
son, if our gracious God brings thy sins to remem- 
brance when thou art among strangers, stand still 
and take off thy hat, for the Lord is about to speak 
with thee.' The young man entered the barracks with 
the best intentions ; at first he was much ridiculed 
by his comrades on account of his habit of prayer, 
then he quite left it off and forgot all about it. 
The first time, however, that he mounted guard, 
and had to take off his helmet at evening prayer, his 
father's words returned to his mind; he prayed in 
very deed, and the Holy Spirit brought his sins to his 
remembrance. This was . how the turning-point of 
his life came about, and the letter that he wrote on 
the subject to his father occasioned much joy and 
thankfulness in his old home. 

On one occasion, it was past midnight when I 
returned from the district connected v/ith the chapel 
of ease, where I had been administering the last 
Sacrament to a dying man. My way lay near the 



Secession and Revival. 289 

churchyard ; the moon was shining brightly. I 
cUmbed over the wall, and stood for a while beside 
the grave of the dear child I had recently lost. All 
at once I heard sighs and groans of great distress, and 
looking round, found they proceeded from a half- 
clothed woman, who lay upon one of the neighbour- 
ing graves. She was the wife of a drunkard, who had 
returned home late ; she had quarrelled with him 
about it, upon which, he had dragged her out of bed 
and turned her out of doors. Her old and respectable 
father had over and over again warned her, but in 
vain. She took to evil courses, and finally married 
this confirmed toper. Now she lay there crying, 
' Oh, had I but listened to my old father, alas ! alas ! 
how much sorrow I gave him.' In her agony of 
mind she sought for refuge on her father's grave. 
Our sins against those who loved us the most, bring 
misery in their train. What then must be the suffer- 
ings of lost souls who have neglected and despised 
all the patience, grace, and love of the Lord Jesus, 
who so often called them, and entreated them in 
vain ! 

Although I could easily give many more happy 
experiences of this remarkable period, I will break off 
here, and only add in conclusion one anecdote, which 
is a great favourite of mine. 

An old man was sitting in his little room one Sun- 
day afternoon. His Bible lay before him, opened at 
the blank sheets before the title-page, on which were 

T 



290 My Ministerial Experiences. 

written some dates of days and years. He was so 
absorbed in the contemplation of these that he did 
not notice the entrance of a neighbour, who asked 
him what he could find to read with such intense in- 
terest, where he saw only a few dates % The old man 
replied : ' Neighbour, could you but know what these 
dates stand for, you would not be any longer sur- 
prised.' These were the dates of all the principal 
occurrences of the old man's life. He pointed with 
his finger to one after the other. ' Here is the date of 
my birth, of my baptism, of my confirmation, my en- 
listing, my marriage,' and so on till at last he came to 
the date of the day when the Lord had efiectually 
called him, and since which he had known himself to 
be the child of God, and inheritor of the kingdom 
of heaven. And then he exclaimed, ' O the depth of 
the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his 
ways past finding out !' and sang with tears and 
in a trembling voice : — 

' Could I a thousand voices raise, 

A thousand tongues employ, 
My heart would pour itself in praise, 

In thankfuhiess and joy. 
And still its happy song should be, 
Hear what the Lord has done for me. ' 

I pray God that every one of my readers may be 
able from his heart so to sing ! 



Edinbtcrgh : T. Constable, Printer to Her Majesty. 



^aaii Morbs an foorllj ntutl; anb tost littb." — Herbert. 



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EDITED BY NOEMAN MACLEOD, D.D., 

ONE OF HER MAJESTY'S CHAPLAINS FOR SCOTLAND. 



The January Part contains the following Papers :— 



1. The Parables, read in the Light of 

tlie Present Day :— Chap. I. The 
Parable of the Leaven. By Thos. 
Guthrie, D.D. Illustrated by Millals. 

2. The Monks and the Heathen. By the 

Rev. Charles Kingsley. Illustrated 
by John Pettle. 

3. Charities in the Black Forest. By 

William Fleming Stevenson. 

4. The Widow's Mite : a Christmas Tale. 

By Anthony TroUope. 

5. The Cure of Over-Anxiety. By the 

Editor. 

6. A Pastoral. By Dora Greenwell. Il- 

lustrated by J. D. Watson. 

7. A Visit to Montenegro. By Laurence 

Oliphant. 



8. Concerning Things which Cannot Go 

On. By A. K. H. B. 

9. Meditations in Advent. By Hemy 

Alford, D.D., Dean of Canterbury. 

10. About Volcanoes and Earthquakes. 

By Sir John Herschel, Bart. 

11. Golden Words. By Adelaide Ann 

Procter. 

12. On the Characteristics of the Age. 

By Sir David Brewster. 

13. Reminiscences of a Highland Parish. 

Chap. I. By the Editor. 

14. St. Elmo. By Isa Craig. Illustrated 

by A. B. Haughton. 

15. Essays for Sunday. By John Caird, 

D.D. No. I. Conversion in Primi- 
tive and in Modern Times. 



The February Part contains the following Papers :- 



1. The Parables, read in the Light of 

the Present Day : — Chap. II. By 
Thomas Guthrie, D.D. Illustrated 
by Millais. 

2. AVindication of Bishop Colenso. The 

First of Two Parts. By the Author 
of " The Eclipse of Faith." . 
?,. On the Songs of Israel. By Canon 
Stanley, D.D. 

4. Peter Barends : the Man who Gained 

by Losing. By John De Liefde, 
Amsterdam. Illustrated by Graham. 

.5. Popular Epithalamium on the Marri- 
age of the Prince of Wales. Illus- 
trated by Leighton. 

t). A Summer in the Province of Nice. 
By the Rev. Professor Lee. 

7. The Spur or the Bridle? Some Thoughts 
on Crime and Criminals. 

5. Experiments with the Trophy Tele- 

scope of the First Exhibition. By 



the Astronomer-Royal for Scotland. 
With Illustrations. 
9. Fallen in the Night. By Author (.if 
"John Halifax." Illustrated by 
J. D. Watson. 

10. The Divinity of Work. Addressed to 

Working Men. By C. J. Vaughan, 
D.D., Chaplain in Ordinary to the 
Queen. 

11. Deaconesses in the Early Church. 

By J. M Ludlow. 

12. Reminiscences of a Highland Parish. 

Chaps. II. and III. By the Editor. 

12. The Passion-Flowers of Life. By A. 

H. Baldwin. Illustrated by Pettle. 

14. The History of Volcanoes and Earth- 

quakes. By Sir John Herschel, 
Bart. 

15. Essays for Sunday :— No. II. Covet- 

ousness a Misdirected AVorship. 
By John Caird, D.D. 



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The March Part contains the following Papers :- 



1. The Parables, read in the Light of 

the Present Day :— Chap III. The 
Prodigal Son. By Thomas Guthrie, 
D.D. Illustrated by Millais. 

2. Concerning Eesignation. By A. K. 

H. B., Author of the " Becreations 
of a Country Parson." 

3. The Night Walk over the MiH-Stream. 

By the Author of " East Lynne." 

4. A Visit to the Taipings. By Laurence 

Oliphant. 

5. A Page from the private Memoirs of 

a Person in a public Situation. 

6. A plea for the Queen's English. By 

the Dean of Canterbury. 

7. The Norse Princess. By Alexander 

Smith. 



8. Thoughts on Divine Chastisement. 

By the Editor. 

9. A Vindication of Bishop Colenso. 

The second of two parts. By the 
Author of " The Eclipse of Faith." 

10. Aerial Navigation as applied to 
Scientific Kesearch. By James 
Glaisher, F.R.S. 



By George Mac- 



11. He Heeded not. 
donald. 



12. Reminiscences of a Highland Parish. 

By the Editor. Chaps. IV., V., 
and VL 

13. Essays for Sunday. No. III. The 

Expediency of Christ's Departure. 
By John Caird, D.D. 



The April Part contains the following Papers;— 



1. The Parables, read in the Light of 

the Present Day :— Chap. IV. The 
Good Samaritan. By Thos. Guthrie, 
D.D. Illustrated by MUlais. 

2. Coal : Its Nature, Origin, Distribu- 

tion, and Mechanical Efficiency, 
By Heniy D. Rogers, LL.D., 
RR.S., etc. 

3. A few Days in Spain. By the Rev. 

A. W. Thorold. 



4. Cousin Winnie. 

5. Soldiers' Wives. 

lain. 



By an Army Chap- 



6. Christian Gottlob Barth. 

7. Not above his Business. By John 

Hollingshead. 

8. Declension and Revival. 



9. The Sun. By Sir John F. W. 

Herschel, Bart. 

10. Christ's Atonement for Sin. By 

Professor Wolfgang Friedrich 

Gess. 

11. Why will FebTuary have a day more 

next year than this ? By the Rev. 
T. Smith, A.M. 

12. Reminiscences of a Highland Parish. 

By the Editor. Chaps. VII. and 
VIII. 

13. Two Easy Lessons on great Subjects. 

By A. S. 

14. Soul-Gardening. By Dora Green well. 

15. Essays for Sunday. No. IV. The 

Alabaster Box of Ointment. By 
John Caird, D.D. 



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AT HOME IN THE SCRIPTURES: A Series of Family 
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Petty Malignity and Petty Trick- 
ery. 

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Future Punishment. 

What after Death ? 

Moments in Life. 

' Labourers together with God.' 

Revivals. 



The Christian Congregation. 

The Cure for. Schism. 

The Union of Man with Man. 

Progress of Missions. 

The Mystery of Sorrow. 

The Beginning of a Year. 

The Close of a Year. 



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SECOND EDITION is now ready, 

Two Vols. Crown 8vo, price 12s. 

THE OLD LIEUTENANT AND HIS SON. 

By NORMAN MACLEOD, D.D., 

ONE OF HER MAJESTY'S CHAPLAINS FOR SCOTLAND, ETC. 

EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE. 

" Genius is not always genial ; too often it meets us with haughty taunts, con- 
temptuous sneers, or sardonic smiles ; but in tliis story it meets us with loving 
looks, eyes full of tender manliness, lips on which the law of kindness dwells, and 
a grasp of the hand— firm and hearty— which puts you at your ease as soon as you 
feel it. Then, moreover, geniality is not always accompanied by earnestness. 
Good-natured minds, full of marvellous power, are sometimes lamentably indif- 
ferent to truth and righteousness ; but Norman Macleod never trims, and never 
forgets his responsibilities to God and man. He fights throughout the battle of 
right against wrong, faith against scepticism, Christ against the world, with all the 
valour, and fire of an old British sailor. . . . For delineation of character, and 
clear earnest useful talk, the ' Old Lieutenant and His Son' is, from beginning to 
end, first-rate. We like both father and son— to use an expression of a friend of 
ours— immensely. We can only add, that this is one of the healthiest works we 
have ever met with. " 

THE DAILY NEWS. 

■*' We place the ' Old Lieutenant and His Son' in the very fii'st rank of fiction. 
It contains remarkable evidence of the author's great talent, and is undoubtedly 
one of the best-written novels that has appeared for some time. " 

THE PATRIOT. 

" Very heartily do we hope that the rich vein of storj'-telling in Dr. Macleod's 
fertile and varied genius will, for many years to come, delight and edify the reading 
world, as this charming story has delighted and edified us. It possesses a dramatic 
power, and a refined poetic beauty which ' Tom Brown's School Days' can lay no 
claim to, while its word-painting is not unworthy of Kingsley. Dr. Macleod's 
familiarity with ships, and those who go down to the sea in them, is perfect. 
Cooper himself might have learned a lesson from him. . . . Beyond any book 
that we know it will tend to produce maulj'- kindness and manly piety. " 

THE PARTHENON. 

" Dr. Macleod's intense earnestness supplies him with a charm which allures the 
intellect and the feelings of the reader alike. . . . Few who open the book will 
close it with a sense of disappointment." 

THE GLOBE. 

•' Very pleasant reading is Dr. Macleod's ' Old Lieutenant,' with its entertaining 
sketches both of land and sea. It is written with a hearty love of those to whom it 

SUNDERLAND HERALD. 

" We have ourselves heard sailors say that ' The Old Lieutenant and His Son ' 
is one of the best tales of sea life ever written. " 

ABERDEEN HERALD. 

" It is such a story as every one must delight in." 



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The SIXTH THOUSAND is now ready, 

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PAPERS FOR THOUGHTFUL GIRLS; 

WITH ILLUSTRATIVE SKETCHES OF SOME GIRLS' LIVES. 

Br SAEAH TYTLEE. 

With Illustrations by J. E. Millais. 

" One of the most charming hooks of its class that we have ever read. It is even 
superior to Miss Mulock's well-known work, 'A Woman's Thoughts about Women.' 
. . . Miss Tytler has produced a work which will be popular in many a home 
when her name has become among her own friends nothing more than a memory." 
—The Morning Herald. 

" It is long since we opened a book which more thoroughly commends itself to 
our judgment than this. ... It has delighted our paternal soul. . . . Fathers, 
be sure you buy this book as your next present to your daughters, whatever their 
years, and do not wait for birthdays." — The Patriot. 

" Here we have one of the best books that ever was written for a purpose. There 
has recently been no lack of books on the whole duty of women ; but in none of 
them has there been so catholic a spirit, so just an appreciation of all the adorn- 
ments of the feminine character." — The Scotsman. 

" We wish that half the novels of the day were as wholesome and suggestive as 
these ' Papers for Thoughtful Girls. ' — Economist. 

"We cordially advise those who have girls to put Miss Ty tier's 'Papers' into 
their hands.'" — The London Review. 

" One of the most fascinating books we have ever seen for the rising youth of the 
fair sex. The whole volume is so lively, and yet so serious, that we would dis- 
claim all liking for the young lady who shoidd not fall in love with it."— Eclectic 
Revievj. 

"... Miss Tytler's book is worthy of a place in the library of every family."— 
The Daily News. 

" It is many a day since we read a book that has gratified us more than Miss 
Tytler's. . . . Happy would it be for our girls if they would mould their charac- 
ters and consecrate their gifts according to it. ... She discourses about youth, 
intellect, beauty, friendship, love, godliness, etc., with the practical purpose, wise 
discrimination, and rich thoughtfuLness of Archbishop Whately or Lord Bacon, and 
then she does what neither of our great ethical philosoiihers could have done — tells 
an admirable story illustrative of her theme."— Evangelical Magazine. 



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WORDSWORTH'S POEMS FOR THE YOUNG. 

With Fifty Illustrations by John Macwhirter and John Pettie. 

" One of the prettiest books imaginable. As a present for the young it can 
scarcely be surpassed. '"— The Morning Journal. 
" A perfectly charming book for the young."— TTie Reader. 



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The SECOND THOUSAND is now ready, 

CroAvn 8vo, with Coloured Illustrations, price 6s. 

GOD'S GLORY IN THE HEAVENS. 



By AVILLIAM LEITCH, D.D., 

Principal and Primarius Professor of Theology, University of Queen's 
College, Canada. 



SEVENTH THOUSAND now ready, 

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BEGINNING LIFE. 

A BOOK FOR YOUNG MEN ON RELIGION, STUDY, AND 
BUSINESS. 

By JOHN TULLOCH, D.D., 

Principal and Primarius Professor, St. Mary's College, St. Andrews. 

" Principal Tulloch's excellent book for young men."— jEc^mSwrc/ZiBeyiew, October 
1862. 

" To this volume we give the highest praise. Principal Tulloch is no mere philo- 
sopher. He brings his subject down to young men's business and bosoms. We 
hope that our wealthier readers will put this volume into the hands of many young 
men who could not otherwise procure it. It is a book that will well sustain the 
reijutation of its author. " — The, Baptist Magazine. 

" This is in every Avay a masterly performance— well calculated to strengthen and 
elevate the mind. There is not a feeble or flimsy chapter in the volume. It is 
beaten gold throughout." — The Christian Witness. 

"We know no more fitting book for youths about to enter on the battle of life." 
— The Morning Journal. 

"As a book for young men, it is vastly superior to any we have ever seen."— 
TJie Glasgow Herald. 



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TWO FRIENDS. 



By the same Autlior. 
THE PATIENCE OF HOPE. Third Edition, 2s 6d. 
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CHRISTINA, AND OTHER POEMS. 6s. 

"Miss Greeuwell is peculiarly fitted with natural gifts for entering into the 
chambers of the human heart, and is spiritually endowed to walk there with a 
brightening influence, cheering, soothing, exalting, with words of comfort and 
looks of love, as a kind of Florence Nightingale walking the hospital of ailing 
souls." — The Atlienceum. 

" Our admiration of the searching, fearless speculation, the wonderful power of 
speaking clearly upon dark and all but unspeakable subjects, the rich outcome of 
thoughts that wander through eternity, increases every time we take up these 
wonderful little hoolis."— North British Review. 

" Miss Greenwell is the most thoughtful and suggestive writer of our day."— T/ie 
Witness. 



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NATURE AND THE SUPERNATURAL, 

AS TOGETHER CONSTITUTING THE ONE SYSTEM OP GOD. 

By HORACE BUSHNELL, D.D. 

Author of " The New Life," etc. 

" It is a work of great ability, and fuU of thought which is at once true and in- 
genious. "—^cZMiMrgr/i. Review, October 1862. 

" We have not had in our hands, for a long time, a book from which so many 

beautiful and powerful passages could be selected The book is a remarkable 

one, and deserves to be widely known and read." — The British Quarterly Review. 

" To thoughtful and open and candid minds this will be a priceless volume." — 
Eclectic Revieiv. 

" Though this is a great book, for such we deem it, it is not an obscure, still less 
a dull one. It will prove intensely interesting to every intelligent reader. "Scottish 
Congregational Magazine. , 



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THE lEAE AID HEATEILT HOUIZOIfS. 

By the countess DE GASPARIN. 

"This is a charming book. Madame de Gasparin has the touch of genius 
which has the strange gift of speaking to every one 'in their own tongue.'"— 

AthencRum. 

" The, Near and the, Heavenly Horizons is a book full of beauty and pathos." 

— British Quarterly Review. 

" Be persuaded, reader, to get this beautiful volume. It is just the book for 
Sabbath afternoons in a Christian family. " — Eclectic Review. 

" This is a book to be enjoyed and revelled in rather than criticised. The reader 
who sits down to it will have a rare literary treat." — The Scottish Guardian. 

" The pictures of nature here are wondrous. This book speaks to the hearts of 
us all. " — Macmillan's Magazine. 

"This is the most charming book of the year, without any qualification. It is 
impossible to write of it as of an ordinary volume. It carries the reader away 
— so enthusiastic, so true, so faithful, so natural is it." — London Standard. 

" This book is poetry in prose, in very deed. We have seldom met with a more 
delicious volume. The authoress carries a perfect witchery in her pen." — The 

London Quarterly Review. 

" This is by far the ablest book that has yet appeared on the subject of the life 
after death. Never before have we seen such irresistible arguments for the etee- 
NiTY OF LOVE, and THE REUNION OF FAMILIES IN HEAVEN." — Caledonian Merc^iry. 



Cheap Edition is now ready, 

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THE WORDS OE THE AI&ELS. 

By RUDOLPH STIEE, D.D., 

AUTHOR or "the WORDS OF THE RISEN SAVIOUR." 

"This very interesting volume cannot be too highly praised. "—T/ie Noncon- 
formist. 

" Dr. Steir's work will be read with pleasure and profit by every pious person." 
— The Journal of Sacred Literature. 

" Full of just and beautiful thought. . . . Every devout reader will be 
charmed with it. " — Patriot. 

"We like this little work better than Dr. Stier's magnum opus— the 'Words 
of the Risen Saviour. ' " — The Record,. 



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Fortieth Thousand is now ready, 

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LIFE THOUGHTS. 

By henry WAED BEECHER. 

" Every page is covered with sentences full of life, — rich, deep, strong, beautiful. 
You will search in it vainly for aught that's dull. The facility of illustration manifested 
is marvellous. Knowledge, imagination, shrewdness, and piety are admirably blended. 
Taking this book as a whole, we can only say the like of it will not soon occur again, 
unless we haye more of Beecher's Life Thoughts." — Evangelical Magazine. 

" They are pregnant with celestial fire, rich in suggestive and original thought. 
Here we find nuggets of gold and gems of the first water. . . . Beecher is not a 
model, but he is better ; he is capital, available capital on which others may draw, and 
send what they draw into currency in thoughts and words that will do the world 
a vast deal of good." — London Press. 



Eighth Thousand now ready, 

In cloth and gold, price Ss. 6d. ; other Edition, 2s» 6d. 

THE GOLD THREAD. 

A STORY FOR THE YOUNG. 
By NOKMAN MACLEOD, D.D., 

One of Her Majesty's Chaplains, Author of "The Earnest Student," 
" The Old Lieutenant and His Son," etc., etc. 

Illustrated in the highest style of Art, by J. D. Watson, Gouelat Steell, 
and J. Macwhirter. 

" This is one of the prettiest as it is one of the best children's books in the language. 
Dr. Macleod is great as a preacher and writer, but he is nowhere greater than in the 
field of nursery literature. Wherever .there are children, if our advice is taken, there 
will be a ' Gold Thread." " — Caledonian Mercury. 



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14 W0BK8 PUBLISHED BY 

SIXTH THOUSAND 

now ready. 

Elegantly printed and hound, Price 3s. Qd. 

THE POSTMAN'S BAG 

A STORY-BOOK FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. 

By the Rev. JOHN DE LIEFDE, Amsterdam, 

Author of the " Pastor of Gegenburg." 



" We know several little children who are never weary of these stories." — London 
Review. 

" ' The Postman's Bag ' is one of the best books for j aveniles we have ever seen. It 
will cause many a little face to beam with delight." — Aberdeen Herald. 

" Commend us ■ Mr. De Liefde for a pleasant story. His book is the very thing to 
win children's hearts." — The Patriot. 



THE TWENTY-FIFTH THOUSAND. 

Price Sixpence, sewed, 

WEE DAVIE. 

Br NORMAN MACLEOD, D.D., 

AuTHOE OF "The Oid Lieutenant and his Son," 
"The Earnest Student," ETC. 

" Fraught with the truest poetry, rich in Divine philosophy, unapproachably the 
chief among productions of its class — this and more, is the story of ' Wee Davie.' By 
all means let every family have a copy of Dr. Macleod's inimitable Christian tale, which 
is as powerful a preacher of the Gospel as we have ever encountered." — Dublin 
Warder. 

" ' Wee Davie ' should be read by every man, woman, and child in every household 
in the land ; and if the Author had written nothing else, it would have stamped him 
as a master." — Hawick Advertiser. 



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HFTY-FIFTH THOUSAND is now ready, 

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THE PATHWAY OF PROMISE; 

OR, 

WOKDS OF COMFOKT TO THE CHRISTIAN PILGRIM. 
CONTENTS. 



I. PREPAEATIONS FOR THE 

JOURNEY. 
II. PROMISED BLESSINGS. 

III. THE BOW IN THE CLOUD. 

IV. DUTY AND INTEREST. 
V. GUARDIANSHIP. 

VI. JEHOVAH. 
VII. CONTENTMENT. 
VIII. DILIGENCE. 
LX. DAILY STRENGTH. 



X. PROGRESS. 
XI. ASSURANCE. 
XII. CAREFULNESS. 

XIII. ABIDING WITH GOD. 

XIV. GRATITUDE. 
XV. PRAYER. 

XVI. DIVINE TEACHING. 
XVII. FIDELITY. 
XVIII. GOD'S PRESENCE. 
XIX. REST. 



FOURTEENTH THOUSAND is now ready, 

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PERSONAL PIETY: 

A HELP TO CHRISTIANS TO WALK WORTHY OF 
THEIR CALLING. 

CONTENTS. 

I. FEW CHRISTIANS IN THE WORLD, AND THE CAUSE OF IT. 
II. THE PREVALENT DEFECTS IN THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER, AND 
HOW THESE DEFECTS OPERATE AGAINST THE SPREAD OF 
THE GOSPEL. 

III. SOME OP THE PARTICULARS IN WHICH THE RELIGION OF 

CHRIST MUST BE EXHIBITED IN ORDER TO EVINCE ITS 
DIVINITY, AND INDUCE MANKIND TO EMBRACE IT. 

IV. HOW EXEMPLIFIED RELIGION EFFECTS THE CONVERSION OF 

MANKIND. 
V. MEANS TO BE USED FOR THE ATTAINMENT OF THE PIETY 

RECOMMENDED. 
VI. MOTIVES TO HIGHER ATTAINMENTS IN PRACTICAL RELIGION. 



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TENTH THOUSAND is now ready, 

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AIDS TO PRAYER. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

OUR FATHER. 

GOD'S TENDER MERCY. 

THE REASON OP PRAYER. 

THE GREAT EXEMPLAR. 

'COME BOLDLY TO THE THRONE.' 



THE SCOPE OF PRAYER. 
THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. 
HUMILITY BEFORE GOD. 
THE PRAYER-MEETING. 
THE PRAYERLESS LIFE. 
APPENDIX. 



TENTH THOUSAND is now ready, 

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THE SUNDAY EVENING BOOK 

OF PAPERS FOR FAMILY READING. 



JAMES HAMILTON, D.D. 
CANON STANLEY, D.D. 
JOHN EADIE, D.D. 



Rev. W. M. PUNSHON. 
Rev. THOMAS BINNEY. 
Rev. J. R. MACDUFF, D.D. 



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WORKS BY 
NORMAN MACLEOD, D.D. 

ONE OF HER MAJESTy's CHAPLAINS, ETC. 



I. 

Second Edition, Two Vols., Crown 8vo, price 12s. 

THE OLD LIEUTENANT AND HIS SON. 

IT. 

Shortly will be published. Crown 8vo, Cloth, price 3s. 6d., 
A POPULAR EDITION OP 

THE EARNEST STUDENT; 

BEING MEMORIALS OP JOHN MACKINTOSH. 

III. 

Tenth Thousand, Crown 8vo, Cloth, price 3s. 6d. 

PARISH PAPERS: 

PERSONAL, SOCIAL, AND CONGREGATIONAL. 

IV. 

Eighth Thousand. In Cloth and Gold, 3s. 6d. ; other Edition, 2s. 6d,, 

THE GOLD THREAD: 

A Story for the Young. 

Illustrated in the highest style of Art, by J. D. Watson, 

GouRLAY Steell, and J. Macwhirter. 

V. 

New Edition preparing, 

THE HOME SCHOOL. 

VT. 

New Edition in preparation, 

DEBORAH, OR COUNSELS FOR THOSE 
IN SERVICE. 

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Twenty-sixth Thousand, price 6d., 

WEE DAVIE. 

VIII. 

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JOB JACOBS AND HIS BOXES: 

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NEW MONTHLY JOUKNAL. 



Hoio Publishing, Price Sixpence Monthly, 

WORK OE THE CHRISTIAI CHURCH 



Messrs. Strahan & Co. are desirous of directing attention to their New Serial, 
Work of the Christian Church, begun on the 1st of March. No such journal has 
hitherto existed ; and indeed until now, when intelligence is transmitted with such 
speed as almost to annihilate time and space, and bring the ends of the world 
together, .there have not been materials for such a work. 

So far as our own country is concerned, this journal supplies a catholic narrative 
of Home Missions — understanding the term to include, not only peculiarly Christian 
and ecclesiastical movements, but also the social aspects of the large tov/ns and 
rural districts ; the condition of the labourer and the artisan ; prisons, and the 
bearings of crime and punishment ; reformatories ; the care and nursing of the 
sick; the employment and the sphere of Christian women — these and kindred 
topics come within the province of the Home Mission. And it does the same, 
by means of special correspondents and commissioners, for France, Germany, and 
the other countries of the Continent and America. 

Passing to the Foreign Field : it brings reliable information from all points where 
Missionaries are labouring. And where are they not labouring? They are to be 
found among the inhabitants of the old lands of Egypt, Ethiopia, Arabia, Palestine, 
Asia Minor, and Persia ; the indomitable Circassians ; the mountaineers of 
Affghanistan ; the tribes of India, speaking thirty-two different languages or 
dialects ; the inhabitants of Burmah, Assam, and Siam ; the islanders of Madagascar 
and Ceylon ; the Malays and Javanese of the Eastern Seas ; the millions of China, 
and the wandering Kalmucks beyond her great wall ; the brave New Zealanders ; 
the teeming inhabitants of the island groups which are scattered over the Southern 
Pacific ; the African races from the Cape to Sierra Leone ; the Esquimaux, and 
Greenlanders, within the Arctic circle ; and the Indian tribes of North America. 

In short, it is the desire of the Conductors to show " how much is doing in all 
parts of the world to spread our blessed religion ;" and they have made arrange- 
ments on a corresponding scale. 



The " Work of the Christian Churcli " is printed in royal 8vo, each 
Nuinber containing 64 pages, and Illustrated vjith Maps and 
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